Mr. Baker Whiteasked the President of the Board of Trade why the comparative figures for 1938 have been dropped oust of the Trade and Navigation Returns.
§ Mr. H. WilsonIt is the normal practice to show in the Trade and Navigation Accounts the figures for the current year with those of the two previous years for the purpose of comparison. The wartime years were of course completely abnormal and therefore useless for this purpose. Consequently in the period immediately following the cessation of hostilities, figures for the year 1938 were quoted until, with the lapse of time, more up-to-date figures of reasonably normal trade became available. The 1938 value figures were not altogether satisfactory for comparative purposes owing to the much higher prices prevailing since the war.