§ Sir M. DOCKRELLasked the Minister of Food if he is aware of any organisation or trust which is seeking power to control importations of, and prices for, butter and cheese brought into Great Britain from foreign countries and the Dominions, and, while conceding a free market in these articles to England, Scotland and Wales, seeks power to control prices of Irish produce and to specifically exclude Ireland from any share in its operations while granting same to the Dominions; if he is a party to proposals which treat Ireland as outside the United Kingdom and inferior to the Dominions; and if he will take the opinion of Parliament upon them?
§ Mr. McCURDYI assume that the question refers to tentative proposals for bridging the gap between the termination of food control, which it was anticipated would take place this autumn, and the restoration of a state of supply adequate to the demand. Proposals designed to this end have been under consideration, but in view of the altered circumstances the exploration of the subject has not advanced beyond the preliminary stage. The proposals formulated related only to imports and not to home production, and it was contemplated that, except in so far as some modification might be thought664W necessary by the Irish Authorities for the protection of the Irish producers, all producers in the United Kingdom should be treated alike.