§ LORD HARRIS rose to ask His Majesty's Government whether it is true that 147,252 cwts. of hops were imported from abroad from. January up to the end of August, 1915, and what quantity has been imported during September whether the quantity imported from January up to the end of August, 1915, exceeds by 50 per cent. the total importation during 1914 from January to December; and whether the appeal of 1077 His, Majesty's Government to avoid the purchase of foreign goods is meant to apply to hops.
§ The noble Lord said: Lords, I am tempted again to bring this question—important only, I admit, to a limited area of the country—before your Lordships' House in consequence of the sympathetic reply as regards the importance which the noble Earl the Minister for Agriculture made when I brought it forward on the former occasion, and also also because since I mentioned the matter last something very important has taken place. The market is Open, and I am sorry to say there is only one description of it—the market is a very ragged one. Factors and merchants and brewers are uncertain as to the future that prices, they can be got at all, are very inadequate and a great many cultivators cannot and a market at all. The consequence, I am afraid, will be what the noble Earl apprehended the other night; there will be a considerable grubbing of hops. That means that a great deal of capital will be scrapped and wasted, and it is an open question whether when the war is Over people will be tempted to put that, capital into this cultivation again.
§ We have reason to suspect that part of the cause of the present state of things is that hops are being imported from the Continent, if not direct, then through America, and are Cooling from enemy countries. There is no doubt that in 1914 hops were allowed into this country from Germany—I believe that cannot be disputed—under licence. I wish the noble Earl could tell us who was licensed to import German hops after the war commenced. Then there was an importation—I do not say it was large, only 280 cwts.—from a suspicious quarter, namely, Norway, Again, 258 cwts. came from the, Netherlands, apart altogether from the 27,000 cwts. From Belgium. In addition to that, what has affected the market this year is—I only give it as a rumour—that American hops of this year are being offered on the market at very low prices, and it is said that the reason why America can do this is that last year they imported very large quantities of German hops. Therefore they are independent. Either they can sell the German hops here, or they can sell their own. If it were possible for the noble Earl to give us a return showing what the importation of hops into the United 1078 States front Europe has been during the past twelve months, it would be very informative as to the idea that we have been during this last year buying from America hops which night have come from enemy countries. At any rate I do not think it can be disputed that we have bought from abroad this year something like double the quantity that we imported last year, and as the quantity purchased from abroad last year cost something like £500,000 means, this year's prices sing about the same, that something like £1,000,000 has to be found in some way or other to pay for these foreign hops. That is a pretty big sum. I do not know whether the noble Earl has done so himself, but members of the Government have been imploring the country to avoid as far as possible purchasing from abroad. Yet although this country is perfectly capable of supplying every hop that, is likely to be wanted for years to come, the financial arrangements of the country are such that people who prefer to do so can go into the market and buy foreign hops, thus sending money abroad.
§ The noble Earl said on the last occasion that he was not prepared to enter into a question of this kind. I do not press him to do so now. At the same time I take the liberty of warning him that what he then apprehended is coming to pass, and that, a cultivation which most important to the poorest classes of the population in its neighbourhood is going to be seriously curtailed. As the noble Earl is likely to know, those who suffer most are the children. I said to a country clergyman that I did not think children were as well clothed now as they were some twenty years ago, and he said, "No. What is more, they don't come to Sunday school as they did twenty years ago. The reason is this. Parents will not send their children to Sunday school unless they are well dressed, particularly in the matter of boots, and the 'hop money' which they earned used to be devoted to buying boots." Now the children in many cases have to go without boots because, in consequence of hops having been grubbed, they cannot earn hop money, and this has been brought about because foreign importations are knocking us out of the markets. During the period of heated argument on the subject of imports, I never advocated Import Duties except upon this one article, hops. I did so for these reasons— 1079 that it is perfectly possible, as I have said, for every hop required in this country to be grown here; that it is a cultivation which employs more labour per acre than any other; and that it is the poorest classes of the population who benefit by it. That is the actual position, and I desire to draw the attention of the country to the fact that these huge importations are going on in the face of the earnest request of His Majesty's Government that we should avoid as much as possible purchasing articles from abroad.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (THE EARL OF SELBORNE)My Lords; I can answer the noble Lord's Questions, though not wholly to my satisfaction any more than to his own. The figure given by the noble Lord of hops imported from abroad from January to August, inclusive, of this year—namely, 147,252 cwts. is correct. The quantity imported in September was 7,182 cwts.—a decrease of over 11,000 on the average of the preceding eight months. If that is any indication of the future—as to which, of course, I can only express a hope, not an opinion—it would seem to show that the buyers of hops in this country may be acting more on the general advice of His Majesty's Government to purchase as little as possible from abroad than they did in the previous months of the year. That advice was most certainly intended to refer to hops as to all other commodities which may either be dispensed with altogether or produced at home. The quantity of hops imported during the first eight months of the current year was, as the noble Lord suggests, about 50 per cent. above the total importation of 1914. But—and I think it is necessary that I should state this, in order to put the matter in its proper perspective—it should be remembered that the 1914 total of 97,306 cwts. was a very low one, the total for 1913 being 262,184 cwts., and that for 1912 being 243,886 cwts. That, I think, answers all the Questions on the Paper.
Then the noble Lord put some supplementary questions to me, some of which I can answer and as to others of which I should like to have notice. He asked what quantities of German hops had been imported under licence in the year 1914, and by whose authority, and why the licence was granted. I do not know, but 1080 if he will put the question down I will ascertain. Then the noble Lord drew attention to the fact that some hops, not a largo amount, bad been coming from Norway. I quite agree that that is a very suspicious circumstance. I will try and find out where those hops really did come from, for I have never myself heard of hops being grown in Norway, and I think the matter requires the closest investigation. Then the noble Lord said he was informed that a large quantity of German hops had been imported into the United States Of America last year. That I believe to be quite true, and it would have taken place in consequence of contracts made before the Order in Council of last March came into force being admitted by His Majesty's Government as valid, in order not to treat with injustice or harshness American merchants who had already placed these contracts without knowledge of our intentions. Then the noble Lord inferred that American hops were being imported into this country this year because America is stocked with the German hops which they imported last year. That may be so. I have no knowledge of what the consumption has been in America of the German hops imported last year. I can only give the noble Lord the figures of the hops that are being imported into this country at the present time.