§ 32. Mr. BOLANDasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food 1312 whether it is by his authority that an instruction has been issued by the Liverpool Portal Committee to steamship companies trading with Ireland not to accept any cattle feeding-stuffs for Ireland without first making application to the Feeding-Stuffs Department of the Ministry of Food through the portal committee; and, if so, whether notice of this intended stoppage of the shipment of feeding-stuffs to Ireland was given to Irish merchants; and whether he will at once have this instruction withdrawn and a fair proportion of the available feeding-stuffs allocated for Irish farmers?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of FOOD (Mr. Clynes)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The issue of this instruction was necessary for the equitable allocation of cattle feeding-stuffs between Great Britain and Ireland. Permits have been granted for the shipment to Ireland of all feeding-stuffs for which freight had been engaged, and permits are being issued for the shipment of further quantities on a proportionate basis of the shipments in the corresponding period of last year.
§ 33. Mr. BOLANDasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will state for each of the last six months for which complete returns are available the amount of cake and cake-meals made in Great Britain; the amount of cake and cake-meals imported into Great Britain; the quantities of these that have been shipped to Ireland; and on what basis the allocation to Ireland has been made?
§ Mr. CLYNESI am sending the hon. Member such figures as are available, and these will be printed in the Official Report.
§ The following are the figure referred to:—
§ The amount of cake and cake-meal made in Great Britain in the last six months for which returns are available are as follows: —
| 1917 | September | … | … | 58,129 tons |
| October | … | … | 61,469 tons | |
| November | … | … | 58,991 tons | |
| December | … | … | 48,686 tons | |
| 1918 | January | … | … | 67,643 tons |
| February | … | … | 64,969 tons |
§ and the following are the amounts of cake and cake meals imported into Great Britain in the same period: —
| 1917 | September | … | … | 22,674 tons |
| October | … | … | 14,119 tons | |
| November | … | … | 21,638 tons | |
| December | … | … | 5,267 tons | |
| 1918 | January | … | … | 4,610 tons |
| February | … | … | 1,248 tons |
§ No exact statistics are in existence as to the shipments from Great Britain to Ireland, but the following show the amount of cake and cake meals directly imported into Ireland in each of the last six months:
| 1917 | September | … | … | 250 tons |
| October | … | … | 251 tons | |
| November | … | … | 29 tons | |
| December | … | … | 342 tons | |
| 1918 | January | … | … | nil |
| February | … | … | nil. |
§ The amount of cattle feeding-stuffs to be allocated to Ireland has not yet been determined, but the question of the allocation throughout the United Kingdom is at present receiving the consideration of the Food Controller.