§ Mr. STANTONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (1) what purchases have the firms of Bates and Bates, Hartridge and Bates, Bates Brothers, and Bates and Chappell effected in River Plate sheep and lambs during the last two months; in how many cases they have held the sheep for longer than a week; what transactions they have had in River Plate lambs and boneless beef; what goods have the firms put in stores at Liverpool and sold ex that port during the last three months, particularly boneless beef; what transactions have taken place in frozen beef ex Liverpool; will he obtain from the refrigerators in Liverpool a complete return of all goods stored in either firm's names, and the names also of the firms to whom any goods have been transferred; will he say how many English and Scottish sheep or lambs were sold by Bates and Bates before the War; how many were sold during January and February; how many of these were directly consigned and how many purchased on the market; whether he is aware that this firm induced a salesman of another firm to join them; and whether he will consider the advisability of discontinuing their employment as Government agents for Colonial meat; and (2) whether he is aware that during last month, owing to the arrival of Dutch sheep, Scottish and English mutton fell to it low price and that, in order to prevent the public procuring the benefit of cheaper prices through the Dutch arrival, a number of Scottish, English and Dutch sheep were bought by firms in Smithfield Market and frozen down in order to defeat the natural operation of supply and demand in the market when operating favourably for the public; and whether he will ask the Central Markets Cold Storage Company, Palmer's Stores, Swain's Stores, and the Blackfriars Cold Storage Company to state the numbers of the sheep so received and the names of the persons storing them?
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