§ MR. MENZIES (Lanarkshire, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the 63,000,000 pounds avoirdupois of hops used in the production of beer during the last Inland Revenue year was imported; what amount of duty would have accrued to the Treasury if a 40s. duty had been in operation; what effect this duty would have had on the price of home-grown hops: and whether the combined effect of the duty and increased price would have tended to increase the price of beer.
§ MR. CHURCHILLI have no information as to the proportion of imported hops actually used by breweries in any one year, but I may say that the net imports of hops into the United Kingdom during the year ended September 30th, 1907 (after deducting re-exports) amounted to about 25,900,000 pounds. What amount would have been imported 1268 if an import duty had been in operation or what the effect of such a duty on prices would have been are hypothetical questions of opinion, and I see little advantage in attempting to deal with them in the compass of a Parliamentary Answer.