§ 11. Mr. LUMLEYasked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the trade ship project; and, in view of the serious state of unemployment in the port of Hull and the fact that the reconditioning of the s.s. "British Trade" is giving employment to 450 men there, and in view also of the advantages which trade in all parts of the country will derive from this venture, whether the Government is prepared to support the project?
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEY (Secretary, Department of Overseas Trade)Yes, Sir, the Department of Overseas Trade has been in frequent communication with the promoters of this project. I am in full sympathy with any well-considered scheme for assisting British trade, but it is not possible for His Majesty's Government to give their official support to this or any other particular scheme until they are satisfied that the proposed exhibition 1246 has secured a substantial measure of support from, and is fairly representative of, British industry, and that the whole venture is on a sound footing.