§ Mr. FORRESTasked the President of the Board of Trade the increases in the retail prices of the necessities of life since the beginning of the year, and also the explanations why both sugar and tea are now dearer?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI have been asked to reply. At 1st March, the latest date for which returns of retail prices have been collected, the only important articles of working-class consumption showing an average increase in retail price since the beginning of the year were tea (about ¼d. per lb.), mutton (between ½d. and 1d. per lb.), and potatoes (nearly ½d. per 7 lbs.). The retail prices of sugar were somewhat lower, on average, at 1st March than at the beginning of the year, but during this month there has been a slight increase in price. The average amount of increase cannot yet be stated precisely, but it appears to be about ¼d. per lb. In the case of both tea and sugar, the increase in retail prices is due to an increase in wholesale prices.