Mr. ALFRED T. DAVIESasked the President of the Board of Trade whether numbers of men employed in the making of worsted and other cloths of similar grade are working reduced hours at Bradford, Saltaire, and other centres in Yorkshire; whether this is owing to the large stocks held by manufacturers at comparatively high prices; whether the demand for superior cloth at higher prices has affected the sale of the lower and generally used pre-war grades; and whether a lowering of the price of these, leaving a fair margin of profit, is possible?
§ Sir R. HORNEI have no information on the first part of the question. A striking feature in the worsted and woollen industry to-day is that since the War the main demand has been for the superior cloths, and manufacturers have found difficulty in disposing of their stocks of lower grades, in spite of the lower prices at which those grades are offered. I have no evidence that the prices of these lower grades are unreasonable.