HC Deb 15 May 1928 vol 217 cc830-1
11. Captain CROOKSHANK

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give any figures indicating the value of artificial flowers imported during each of the last three years; and, if so, whether he can distinguish between poppies and other flowers?

Mr. WILLIAMS

The value of the artificial flowers imported during 1925, 1926 and 1927 amounted to £502,000, £512,000 and £594,000, respectively. I am unable to give separate figures for artificial poppies.

Captain CROOKSHANK

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are people who sell these foreign poppies on Armistice Day, to the great detriment of the British Legion Fund, and can he, with his right hon. Friend, go into the matter to see if anything can be done to safeguard the position of the disabled men,

The following STATEMENT shows the Number and Net Tonnage (Suez Canal Measurement) of Merchant Vessels and Mail Steamers passing through the Suez Canal, including their repeated voyages, during the year 1927:—

Flag. Number of Vessels. Net Tonnage.
Tons. Per cent.
British … … 2,800 15,384,669 55.80
Dutch … … 575 3,024,848 10.97
German … … 529 2,763,783 10.02
French … … 332 1,798,277 6.52
Italian … … 329 1,510,974 5.48
Japanese … … 152 914,424 3.32
Norwegian … … 141 659,615 2.39
American … … 79 519,748 1.89
All other … … 260 995,021 3.61
Total … … 5,257 27,571,359 100.00