§ SIR FORTESCUE FLANNERY, (Yorkshire, W.R., Shipley)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the inconvenience to banks and other business houses in the City arising out of the arrangements for receiving applications for the new issue of Ceylon Government £3 per cent. Inscribed Stock; whether he is aware that such applications were receivable only on specified forms; that on application at the Crown Agents' Transfer Office, No. 1, Token house Buildings, E.C., at 10 o'clock on the day of the issue, 23rd inst., information was given that such forms would not be received there until 12 noon; that the applications had to be lodged in Downing Street, and that on the same day the application list was closed at 1 o'clock; whether he can see his way to arrange for a greater interval in future applications for Colonial loans between the actual issue of the application forms and the closing of the lists.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINI am informed that no such statement as the hon. Member refers to in the second paragraph of his Question was made at the Crown Agents' city office. The forms of application were available at that office, and at the other offices named in the Prospectus, a few minutes after 10 o'clock on the 23rd inst., and the list was closed at 1.20 on the same day, the loan having been largely over-subscribed by that time. In all cases of subscription at a fixed price the interval between the issue of forms of application and the closing of the list must depend on the response made by the public to the loan; but I may add that, though special forms were issued for the convenience of subscribers, applications were receivable in any form.