§ Captain Pluggeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the appeal to the public to abstain from unnecessary purchasing, his attention has been called to the attitude of shopkeepers in general in informing the public that in a few months' time supplies of normally needed articles, such as silks, linen and cotton, will no longer be obtainable, with the result that people are now being induced to spend more money than is necessary; and whether he proposes to make a public statement on this matter?
§ Sir J. SimonI have at present no evidence of an abnormal increase in retail sales due to the causes suggested by the hon. and gallant Member. There was, it is true, a considerable amount of retail overbuying at the beginning of the war in anticipation of increased prices, but this has subsided.