§ Mr. WEDGWOOD BENNasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the warehouse-keepers' books in the Port of London show the totals of various kinds of mahogany logs in stock, imported and delivered; whether they give the same particulars for walnut, birch, and oak logs, and the number of boards and planks of American walnut, American oak, and American whitewood; and whether, in view of its value to trades interested in timber, he will request the Port of London authority to publish weekly or, failing that, fortnightly, a complete list of all stock in all the docks under the control of the Board?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI am informed by the Port of London Authority that as regards furniture and hardwood they publish, for the information of the trades concerned, weekly and monthly stock returns, describing the various kinds of timber, classified as logs, planks, tons, or loads, as may be most serviceable for the guidance of the respective trades, and that in the case of softwoods a monthly statement of stock is issued from the respective docks where such wood is stored, and in this statement the goods are described or classified according to the description of wood and the method followed by the trade in dealing with such wood. I have no power to require the Port of London Authority to publish weekly or fortnightly lists of the stock in the docks under their control, but they inform me that they would be pleased to consider any application which may be made to them by the wood trade generally or by any special section of the trade, with a view to making the returns more comprehensive or serviceable.