§ 31. Mr. BOLANDasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether, in view of the fact that Irish blackberries in good condition were sold last season at about £14 per ton free on rail in the sellers' packages, and that pickers were paid from 1s. to 1s. 2d. per 14lb., he will state what arrangements the Department has made with the Sugar Commission for a sufficient supply of sugar to preserve the coming season's crop; whether instructions on the subject will be issued to the county committees of agriculture; and what other steps will be taken to secure that none of the blackberries which grow plentifully in Kerry and other parts of Ireland will be wasted through lack of facilities for preserving?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of LABOUR (Mr. Bridgeman)I have been asked to reply. 2089 Manufacturers of jam in Ireland are receiving their 1915 supply of sugar in full, and private growers of the fruit in Ireland who applied for sugar under the special scheme of distribution for domestic jam making are receiving the same proportion of their demand as applicants in other parts of the United Kingdom. No special arrangements are being made as regards the blackberry crop.
§ 82. Mr. P. MEEHANasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he is aware that private house-holders in Ireland who have applied for preserving sugar for the purpose of making jam have received none, and cannot procure the same; if he is aware that a considerable quantity of fruit has already been wasted owing to the non- distribution of the sugar; if he can state why applications from Ireland for pre serving sugar have been ignored; and whether he intends taking steps to secure that a fair proportion of preserving sugar will be distributed immediately in that country?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANApplications from Ireland under the recent scheme for distributing sugar to private growers who desired to preserve their own fruit were treated precisely in the same way as those from other parts of the United Kingdom. Some delay in receiving sugar in Ireland may have occurred owing to greater difficulty of transport, but a fair proportion of the sugar available is being or has already been distributed to Ireland.
§ 83. Mr. J. M. HENDERSONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that a number of people who grow their own fruit have been shut out of any supply of preserving sugar because they did not enclose a stamped directed envelope in their letter of application; and will he say what he proposes to do to remedy this, seeing that otherwise a quantity of food will be lost?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe enclosure of a stamped and addressed envelope was made a condition of application in the case of the special sugar for fruit preserving, as the clerical work involved in addressing and stamping half a million envelopes within a limited time was beyond the capacity of the volunteer staff who dealt with this issue. All the sugar available has been distributed, and it is not possible to reopen the question of its allocation.
Mr. WATSONIs the hon. Gentleman aware that there are many people who did enclose stamped envelopes and never got the form sent to them, and is he not prepared to reopen these cases?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI am quite aware of that, but I understand that it is impossible to reopen the subject now.
§ Mr. HENDERSONIs it not unfortunate that some people get nothing and their next-door neighbour gets some, thereby causing discontent? Why should that be for such a paltry question as a penny stamp?
§ 84. Mr. DUNCAN MILLARasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if the Food Controller will take steps to deal with the deficiency in the supply of sugar to the grocers and co-operative societies in the industrial areas of Lanarkshire, as the present supply is insufficient to enable them to meet the needs of their customers even on the basis of a much-curtailed sugar ration?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANAs explained in the reply to the hon. Member's question of the 30th April on this subject, arrangements have been made to allot additional supplies of sugar to any district in which a shortage has been caused by an increase of population since 1915. Inquiry is being made by an inspector of the Ministry of Food into the needs of several places in Lanarkshire to which the hon. Member has already drawn attention—namely, Cambuslang, Shotts, Wish aw, Mother-well, Minard, and Fulness—with a view to ascertaining whether additional supplies are justified. If he will furnish the names of any other places which he may have in mind, inquiry respecting their needs will also be made.
§ 87. Mr. PETOasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that in many cases applications duly and correctly made to Mr. Rewcastle for forms of application for the allotment of sugar for jam preserving received no acknowledgment, and consequently the distribution of sugar for this purpose is unequal, and many people who have made application as instructed are unable to obtain any supply of sugar for preserving their fruit; and whether he will instruct Mr. Rewcastle even now to send forms of application to persons who applied in writing at the proper time and whose applications have received no attention?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI regret that I can add nothing to the answer given on 6th July to the hon. Member for South Tyrone.
§ Mr. PETOAs the answer to which the hon. Gentleman refers me says it is not proposed to do anything in this matter on account of the very few exceptions under which these licences have been issued where stamped envelopes were sent, and in view of the fact that many hon. Members have had notice of so many of these exceptions, and that they must be very numerous, will he reconsider the question?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANHe has been asked to reconsider it several times. I will ask him again.