§ MR. BRIGG (Yorkshire, W.R. Keighley)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if, before presenting to the House another Budget, he will take into consideration the desirability of increasing the amount of moisture allowed to be present in low-priced tobaccos, seeing that under present conditions small manufacturers are being driven out of the trade by syndicates who rely only upon high priced and fancy tobaccos for their profits.
§ MR. ASQUITHThe present legal limit of moisture in tobacco was settled as recently as 1904 by the Act 4, Edward VII., Chapter 7, Section 3 (2), and, as at present advised, I am strongly of opinion that, quite apart from the unsettlement caused to trade by frequent alterations, it would be undesirable, in the interests both of consumers and of the Exchequer, to increase it.