§ MR. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick)To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the depreciation on the London Stock Exchange in the prices of brewery and other allied stocks; whether he is aware that this has affected insurance and other large public companies with money invested, likewise causing losses to investors; and whether, seeing that the gambling agencies' transactions causing this depreciation have been based on the financial aspects of the Licensing Bill, the Government proposes to take any measures to restrain such gambling and bear operations in the London and other British stock exchanges, with a view of protecting bona fide investors.
(Answered by Mr. Asquith.) The hon. Member is probably right in his conjecture that recent market fluctuations in the class of securities to which he 299 refers have been to some extent due to speculative manipulation, but the matter does not appear to me to be one which could with advantage be dealt with by legislation.