§ 4. Major M'KENZIE WOODasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that when recently a well-known own exporter of pedigree stock applied, in conformity with statutory Regulations, for permission to export a pedigree colt to South Africa he received a reply from the War Trade Department, reference number 612,274/19B, asking whether the pedigree colt is a shorthorn steer; whether he is aware that this reply has been published in the Press; and whether he will take steps to obtain expert knowledge for the purpose of dealing with questions of this kind?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThe answer to the first and second parts of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part the War Trade Department (now the Export Licence Department) obtain the advice of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries when export knowledge of agriculture is required. The particular application in question was in respect of a number of pedigree shorthorn cattle, with the addition of one pedigree colt. The applicant does not, as a rule, export horses, and I am informed that the Board of Agriculture thought 1370 he might have inadvertently inserted "colt'' instead of "steer" or "young bull" on the application form. They, therefore, suggested to the War Trade Department that further inquiry should be made on this point, but, undoubtedly, the abbreviated form of the inquiry was not felicitous.