§ 71. Mr. WATTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the consent of his Department was asked recently to the establishing of a sheet-glass manufactory at Rutherglen, near Glasgow; whether he is aware that the position in this country has been for months that sheet-glass is practically unprocurable; that this glass has largely been a Continental product, the difficulty in manufacturing in this country being the proper kind of sand; whether he is aware that the company that contemplated the Rutherglen project had, after trouble and expense, found suitable sand and in sufficient quantity at Campbelltown, in Argyllshire; whether this scheme was for bidden by his Department without any reason being assigned; and will he say whether it was traceable to the influence of the only two firms engaged in this kind of glass-making in this country?
Mr. ROBERTSI am unable to answer my hon. Friend's question until I am furnished with the further particulars for which I asked in the letter I addressed to him.