§ 7. Mr. HANNONasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is in a position to make any statement as to the proposed abolition of the Excise Duty on Indian cotton goods and the institution of a system of Preference for British goods?
§ Earl WINTERTONMy hon. Friend will realise that it would be altogether unusual for me to make any announcement on fiscal changes in India affecting future budgets; he has, no doubt, followed the recent discussions in the Legislative Assembly regarding the cotton excise.
§ 8. Mr. HANNONasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can state the imports into India during the past 12 months of cotton goods of all kinds, giving the countries of origin, together with comparative figures for the years 1913, 1922 and 1923?
§ Earl WINTERTONAs the question involves a tabular statement, I propose, with my hon. Friend's permission, to circulate the answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. HANNONAre the Government making representations to India to give as much consideration as possible to imports into India of British products, in the shape of cotton goods?
§ Earl WINTERTONThat does not arise out of the question, which merely asks if I can state the imports into India of cotton goods, and I have replied that, as the answer involves a number of figures, I propose to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The hon. Member is now asking a question as to policy.
§ Following is the statement promised:
| STATEMENT showing the total value of cotton manufactured goods imported by sea into British India for the 12 months ending 31st March, 1925, giving the countries of origin together with the comparative figures for the years ending 31st March, 1914, 1923 and 1924. | |||||
| — | 1913–14. | 1922–23. | 1923–24. | 1924–25. | |
| Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | ||
| United Kingdom | … | 59,75,14,350 | 59,22,57,379 | 55,28,27.033 | 65,82,32,861 |
| Gibraltar | … | — | — | 7,452 | — |
| Aden and Dependencies | … | 34,830 | 77,200 | 25,336 | — |
| Mesopotamia | … | — | 43,778 | 12,626 | — |
| Bahrein Islands | … | 28,065 | 3,522 | 2,312 | — |
| Ceylon | … | 1,37,985 | 3,05,262 | 5,27,197 | — |
| Straits Settlements (including Labuan). | 5,22,300 | 21,88,265 | 22,61,271 | — | |
| Hong Kong | … | 2,98,230 | 7,83,622 | 6,89,060 | — |
| Kenya Colony | … | — | 1,946 | 4,048 | — |
| Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | … | — | 5,460 | — | — |
| Mauritius and Dependencies | … | — | 21,728 | — | — |
| Australian Commonwealth | … | — | 13,033 | 4,120 | — |
| Germany | … | 1,41,67,560 | 9,82,131 | 23,16,461 | — |
| Netherlands | … | 1,10,53,695 | 1,05,54,509 | 93,22,961 | 81,79,264* |
| Belgium | … | 75,46,350 | 4,51,902 | 15,22,983 | — |
| France | … | 3,76,950 | 1,86,821 | 3,48,962 | — |
| Switzerland | … | 34,57,305 | 45,36,559 | 91,88,722 | 88,33,831* |
| Italy | … | 99,14,700 | 23,98,767 | 56,72,390 | 76,38,481* |
| Austria | … | 33,77,280 | 1,77,117 | 6,47,908 | — |
| Hungary | … | 663 | — | ||
| Czechoslovakia | … | — | 1,58,361 | 1,81,263 | — |
| Java | … | 21,525 | 1,24,840 | 4,92,598 | — |
| Borneo (Dutch) | … | — | — | 76,500 | — |
| China (exclusive of Hong Kong and Macao) | 13,185 | 11,77,489 | 27,26,538 | — | |
| Japan | … | 1,20,48,900 | 8,19,40,247 | 8,35,48,472 | 11,19,55,545* |
| United States of America | … | 26,16,750 | 28,61,531 | 32,92,954 | 32,23,987* |
| Other Countries | … | 12,510 | 48,823 | 45,453 | 2,51,87,340 |
| Total | Rs. | 66,29,92,650 | 70,13,02,032 | 67,48,45,756 | 82,32,51,509 |
| *The figures of imports from these countries are not exhaustive totals, some part of the value of goods imported from them may be included in the figure for "other countries." |