§ Lieut.-Colonel RUDKINasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the great discrepancy between the price of petrol and the price of paraffin; whether he is aware that great hardship is being inflicted on the working classes in rural districts, who depend entirely on paraffin for lighting purposes and, in many cases, for cooking; and whether he will have an inquiry made into the matter, with a view to a proportionate reduction in the price of paraffin?
Mr. ALEXANDERI have been asked to reply. I understand that the ratio between the wholesale prices of paraffin or kerosene oil and petrol is much the same as that ruling before the War. It is not clear that any special grounds exist for an inquiry into the price of this particular commodity.