§ 28. Mr. Keelingasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will direct the Monopolies Commission to investigate and report on the refining of sugar.
§ Mr. H. WilsonThe Monopolies Commission is at work on the six cases referred to them in March, and is not yet ready to undertake further work. I cannot anticipate the choice of subjects for future references.
§ Mr. KeelingWell then, was not it bootless for the President to make a speech accusing the sugar industry of being a harmful monopoly unless he was prepared straight away to refer this matter to the Commission?
§ Mr. WilsonThe phrase I used was that it was a monopoly—I should not have thought that fact was in any dispute—as defined under the Monopolies Act, of which I am sure the hon. Gentleman has seen a copy. I did not use the phrase that it was a harmful monopoly.
§ Mr. KeelingDoes the President deny that he said that in view of the fact that it was a monopoly in which one of the people's basic foodstuffs was concerned, the sugar industry should be entrusted to the representatives of the people?
§ Mr. WilsonThat seems to be a very different thing from the statement just attributed to me by the hon. Gentleman.