§ Mr. STANTONasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the total amount of wood pulp imported into Great Britain in 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916; what proportion of this came from Norway; and of the Norwegian consignment what proportion was imported by the Kellner-Partington Paper Pulp Company?
§ Mr. WARDLEThe average annual quantity of wood pulp imported into the United Kingdom from all sources during the period from 1912 to 1916 was 901,000 tons, of which 397,000 tons, or 44 per cent., was consigned to this country from Norway. The figures for each individual year will be circulated with the OFFICIAL REPORT. Particulars of the quantities of wood pulp imported on account of a particular company could only be ascertained as a result of an exhaustive examination of a vast mass of original papers relating to individual entries, and I do not think that I should be justified in asking the Customs authorities to undertake so onerous a task in present circumstances.
The following statement [referred to above] gives particulars of the imports of wood pulp in each of the years 1912-16, distinguishing imports from Norway
Year. Total Imports from all sources. Of which Consigned from Norway. Proportion of Imports from Norway to Total Imports. Tons. Tons. Per cent. 1912 925,590 362,367 39.1 1913 977,757 373,899 38.2 1914 990,272 347,996 35.1 1915 954,050 442,923 46.4 1916 658,082 456,460 69.4 Total Imports 1912-1916 4,505,751 1,983,645 44.0 Average of the years 1912-1916 901,150 396,729 44.0