§ 105. Major HUNTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, when he nominated the men for the Committees to report upon various industries, he did so after a general consultation with the masters and men engaged in those industries?
§ Mr. PRETYMANEvery care was taken to secure that the Committees should be constituted on as authoritative a basis as possible.
§ Major HUNTWere the men consulted before these gentlemen were appointed on the Committees?
§ Mr. PRETYMANThese were no formal consultations, but many people interested were consulted informally.
§ Major HUNTNot the men?
§ Mr. PRETYMANNo, not the men.
§ Major HUNTIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the men are very much disgusted at not having been consulted?
§ Mr. PRETYMANThere is nothing which prevents consultation with the men if, as the work of the Committee progresses, it appears necessary to consult them, or even to appoint a member to represent them.
§ Major HUNTHow can the men change the Committees now you have appointed them?
§ Mr. SPEAKERPerhaps the hon. Member will put his next question.
§ 106. Major HUNTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that Sir Hugh Bell stated in March this year that it should be our policy to buy as many goods as possible from Germany after the War, he can say whether this is the policy of the Government; and, if not, for what reason he put Sir Hugh Bell on the Committee of the Iron and Steel Trade against the wishes of the great majortiy of both masters and men?
§ Mr. PRETYMANI would refer the hon. and gallant Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Plymouth on the 15th May.
§ 111. Mr. GEORGE TERRELLasked the President of the Board of Trade what Committees he has appointed to deal with questions of trade during and after the War, the names of the persons constituting each of such Committees, and the questions which have been respectively referred to them?
§ 116. Mr. R. McNEILLasked how many Committees have been appointed by the Board of Trade in relation to trade during or after the War; what are the terms of reference or the instructions to each of such Committees; and who are the chairman and members of such committees, respectively.
§ Mr. PRETYMANAs the list of Committees and names is somewhat lengthy, I will send to the hon. Gentlemen a statement giving the information for which they ask.
§ 112. Mr. GEORGE TERRELLasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Right Honourable F. Huth Jackson has been appointed chairman of a Board of Trade Committee; what is the reference to such Committee; whether he is a partner in the firm of Huth and Company, of Valparaiso; and what were the names and nationalities of his partners at the outbreak of the War.
§ Mr. PRETYMANAs regards the first portion of the question, I must refer the hon. Member to a reply given to the hon. Member for Walsall on 19th April, of which I am sending him a copy. Mr. Huth Jackson is a director of the Bank of England and a partner in the well-known British firm of Frederick Huth and Company, all the partners in which at the outbreak of war were British and of British parentage. I understand that Messrs. Frederick Huth 2718 and Company have a branch house at Valparaiso, of which at the outbreak of war one of the two local partners was a British born subject and the other a German. The latter was compulsorily retired after the War began. I take this opportunity of expressing the high appreciation of His Majesty's Government of the valuable services rendered by Mr. Huth Jackson both before and during the War, particularly in connection with the scheme of war risk insurance.
§ 114. Mr. PETOasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has been informed that there are several industries of national importance the establishment of which depend on the declaration of trade policy; and whether there is any probability of an early announcement by the Government?
§ Mr. PRETYMANI am fully aware of the importance of the matter referred to, but I am not at present in a position to make any statement on the subject.
§ 115. Mr. PETOasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Committees he has set up to advise the Government on the policy to be pursued after the War in regard to the iron and steel industry and the textile industries are wholly unrepresentative of commercial opinion in this country, and that, as they are regarded as packed tribunals, their finding will carry no weight even in the industries concerned; and whether he will reconstitute them in such a manner as to command public confidence?
§ Mr. PRETYMANNo, Sir. I am quite unable to accept the statement contained in the first part of the question, and I am not prepared to reconstitute the Committees.