§ Mr. Manderasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply the present position with reference to a proposal that has been put forward involving the manufacture of paper from straw, thereby saving imports of pulp and shipping space and producing an article at a much cheaper price?
§ Mr. Harold MacmillanI understand that the proposal to which the hon. Member refers is one made by a paper merchant on behalf of a firm of publishers, under which the publishers would obtain an increased quota of paper for their publications if they provided finance for the operation of a factory designed to use a new process for the production of pulp from straw. Every effort is being made to develop supplies of paper from home produced materials, and a number of mills are converting straw into pulp. The shortage of paper and of paper-making materials necessitates the strict rationing of paper among users, and it is not possible to allow one user to have a larger quantity in return for financing production.