asked the President of the Board of Trade whether all buyers of softwood were offered and accepted 90 per cent. of their quotas by 15th November as anticipated by the Timber Control of his Department in a communication to the trade dated 29th September last; and, if not, for what reasons.

All first hand buyers of imported softwood were offered 90 per cent. of their original quotas, most of them by 15th November, and the others by a day or two later. With two exceptions, all accepted the offer in full. First hand buyers are entitled to replace to an equivalent value their sales to buyers at second hand. Replacements have been offered to all the first hand buyers concerned, and my latest information is that only five have not taken them up fully. It is the practice, however, to allow fifteen days' grace to clean up replacements of sales at the end of the quota period, and it may be that those five firms have by this time taken up their full replacement quantities. I cannot say why the two firms concerned did not take up the full amounts to which they were entitled.