§ Sir W. Darlingasked the President of the Board of Trade if any estimate can be formed of the value of silk piece goods now held by merchants in the United Kingdom which are not available for sale to the home market, but for which no effective demand has been or can be found overseas; and are such goods to remain frozen indefinitely on the shelves of these merchants at the risk or deterioration and loss.
§ Mr. H. WilsonI have no figures available of the stocks of silk piece goods held by merchants for which export sales have not yet been secured. Manufacturers of silk piece goods are permitted to sell one-third of their production for supply in the304W home market, and I should not feel justified in increasing this proportion. We are taking all possible steps to reduce those impediments to sales which exist at present in certain overseas markets.