§ Mr. HANNONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is in a position to state the volume and value of the imports of silk and silk goods during the months of June, 1924, and June, 1925, respectively; and whether he can give any indication of the estimated value of revenue which would have accrued to the Treasury had the new Silk Duty been chargeable on the excess of imports of such goods during June, 1925?
Mr. GUINNESSWith the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table giving such figures as are available for a comparison at the present moment. It will be appreciated that the classification of imports in this table is that used in the Trade Accounts before the Silk Duties came into operation, and it is therefore only possible to give a rough estimate of the yield represented by the difference between the figures given for the two months in question. This yield may be put at between £l½ and £2 million, but it must not be assumed that anything approaching this sum would have been obtained if the duties had been in force last month.
Following is the table: