§ 46. Major ARCHER-SHEEasked the Prime Minister whether he was informed by the Attorney-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer that they had been dealing in the shares of the American Marconi Company before the debate on the Marconi Agreement of the 11th October; if so, whether he informed any members of the Marconi Committee of this fact; and whether he can state if he has any information as to whether these or any other Ministers have been dealing in the shares of the Argentine, Canadian, Spanish, Russian, or French wireless companies associated with the British Marconi Company?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Asquith)I was informed by the Master of Elibank at the end of July or the beginning of August that he and the Attorney-General and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had purchased shares in an American Marconi Company. At a later date in August the 1630 Attorney-General repeated the statement to me, and I believe added that they had sold some of the shares, but retained the bulk of them. Both assured me that the purchase was made after the publication of the contract between the Post Office and the English Marconi Company, and that the American Company had no interest direct or indirect in that contract. That was the whole extent of my information at the date of the debate in October. The answer to the second and third parts of the question is in the negative.
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he does not think it desirable that these facts should have been communicated to the House in the debate which took place at that time?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo, Sir. I confess they seemed to have no relevance whatever to the scandalous charges which were then being circulated, and I really attached no importance to them.
§ Major ARCHER-SHEEMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman with reference to the second part of the question, whether he has inquired whether the hon. Member for Pontefract (Mr. Booth) and the hon. Member for Forfarshire (Mr. Falconer) were in possession of the same information before they examined the editors?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo, Sir. Certainly not.
§ Major ARCHER-SHEEWill he do so?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo, Sir.
§ 86. Major ARCHER-SHEEasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the British Marconi Company owned 56 per cent., that is, a majority stock in the American Marconi Company, before the issue of over 8,000,000 dollars worth of stock at par in April, 1912; how much of this stock was allotted on the application of the British Marconi Company, in view of the fact that they controlled the American Company; and whether any of the shares taken up by Cabinet Ministers formed part of the shares so applied for?
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Herbert Samuel)I have no official information on these matters. The fullest information with respect to the purchases made by my right hon. Friends is being given by them to the Select Committee of this House.