§ 11. Mr. HANNONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether His Majesty's Government has received repre- 1164 sentations from the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia on the subject of preferential treatment of Australian dried and canned fruit exported from that Dominion to this country; whether the fruit-drying and fruit-canning industries of the Australian Commonwealth present great possibilities of development; and whether favourable consideration will be given to the extension of preferential treatment to these articles?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEA communication on this subject was received some time ago from the Australian Government who stated that the industries in question were capable of great development. Australian preserved fruit liable to duty already receives a preference of one-sixth, and His Majesty's Government after careful consideration came to the conclusion that it was not possible to make the substantial increase in the amount of the preference which was suggested by the Australian Government.