§ Mr. A. M. SAMUELasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the high rate of increase in the imports of silk mixtures from Switzerland for the five months ending May, 1920, which, compared with 1913 and 1919, are: 1913, 1,652,811 yards, £148,000 value; 1919, 369,042 yards, £84,000 value; and 1920, 11,968,988 yards, £3,460,000 value; whether he is satisfied that this very large quantity, imported in the first five months of 1920, is all made in Switzerland; whether he has been informed by British silk manufacturers that, if importation be continued on this scale, unemployment will be caused in the British silk industry, as it is engaged in large measure in the manufacture of similar mixed silk fabrics; and what steps he proposes to take to prevent our work-people in the silk trade being thus thrown out of work?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMAN:The quantities and values of the imports of silk mixtures were as stated by my hon. Friend. I have no information as to the actual origin of the goods coming from Switzerland. The yardage of imports from all sources in the months referred to is about
470W
(a) Total Imports (excluding Specie). Period. From all sources. Of which from United States. United Kingdom. Amount. Proportion of total. Amount. Proportion of total. Thousand £ Thousand £ Per cent. Thousand £ Per cent. Annual average: 1899–1900 to 1903–4 13,650 5,730 41.98 2,127 15.58 1904–5 to 1908–9 19,406 9,324 48.05 2,763 14.24 1909–10 to 1913–14 24,555 12,965 52.80 2,950 12.01 Year 1914–1915 25,586 15,427 60.29 2,937 11.48 Year 1915–1916 35,794 25,079 70.07 3,268 9.13 Year 1916–1917 48,923 35,058 71.66 3,790 7.75 Year 1917–1918 61,875 46,352 74.91 2,606 4.21 double that of 1913. I have not received any representation from manufacturers in this country on the subject and cannot promise to take any steps.