asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the average number of middlemen between the manufacturers and the user in the case of pottery; what is the permitted percentage added to the primary cost of the products in the retail price; and how is this distributed among the several middlemen.

Most pottery passes direct from manufacturer to retailer: some passes in the first instance through a wholesaler, but the proportion passing through two wholesalers is negligible. Distributors' maximum margins under the Domestic Pottery (Maximum Prices) Order, are fixed at 31¼ per cent. for wholesalers and 55 per cent. for retailers. The retailer who buys direct from a manufacturer can take only the latter; and, in the exceptional case where there were two wholesalers, the 31¼ per cent. would have to be shared between them. Moreover, in the case of scheduled items, which include most items made in white earthenware, these margins are subject to over-riding cash maximum prices which limit the over-all addition to the manufacturer's maximum price to at most 75 per cent.