MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information has reached the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs relative to the proposed acquisition by an American Company or syndicate of certain British ships including those of the White Star Line, or of the shares of the British companies owning those ships; if so, when was that information received, and from whom; and when was it communicated to the Board of Trade. Have any representations been made, or any information transmitted to the Foreign Office by His Majesty's Embassy, or any of His Majesty's Consulates in the United States, relative to this proposed acquisition of British ships or of the shares in the companies owning them. And will any Papers on the subject be laid before the House.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord CRANBORNE, Rochester)Neither His Majesty's ambassador at Washington, nor his Majesty's Consuls in the United States were informed officially or unofficially of the operations of the syndicate, and the only information sent to the Foreign Office on the subject was derived from public sources. No communications have passed between His Majesty's Government and the United States Government in regard to it.