§ Mr. Edward Daviesasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the acute shortage of cigarettes in North Staffordshire; if he is satisfied that a fair quota is being allocated to that area; and whether he will take steps to effect improvement.
§ Mr. H. WilsonI am aware that there is a general shortage of cigarettes all over the country; this is due to restriction of leaf supplies, and an improvement must depend on our progress in solving the problem of our balance of payments. I am satisfied that the shortage is no worse in North Staffordshire than in other areas.