asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the difficulty existing at the present time to the general public making long journeys in trains where no provision is made for refreshments; that Thermos flasks are only obtainable to those who have a permit and refills cannot be purchased at all; and if he will look into this matter and endeavour to put more of these essential articles on the market.

Vacuum flasks are scarce because most of our supplies came from abroad before the war, and it has not been possible to expand our productive capacity during the war. My Department is endeavouring to secure more labour in order to get the utmost production from the existing plant.