§ 3. Mr. STANTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the proposed sale of the Kellner-Partington Wood Pulp Company to an alleged Norwegian syndicate; whether the names of the actual purchasers are not disclosed and the conditions of sale are such as to raise suspicion that the real purchaser is the Imperial Foreign Trade Department of the German Government; and who are the persons negotiating this purchase on the Norwegian side and what are the financial relations of each of these persons, what directorship they hold, and what holdings they possess in Germany and Austria, before any such transfer is sanctioned?
§ The MINISTER of BLOCKADE (Lord Robert Cecil)I would refer the hon Member to the replies on this subject given yesterday to the hon. Member for South-West Ham.
§ 5. Mr. STANTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether some years ago the Norwegian Government passed a law prohibiting the sale of freehold property, water-power, and mines to foreigners; that under this law the Kellner-Partington Wood Pulp Company were prevented from increasing their holding in Norway; whether it is now proposed to sell the British holdings in this company to a Norwegian syndicate, whose names are not disclosed; and whether, as this will imply the passage of over £200,000 worth of industrial property in this country to the control of foreigners, and possibly enemy foreigners, and the transfer of numbers of British workmen to foreign employment, he will oppose the completion of this transaction?
§ Lord R. CECILThe answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. The third part has already been answered. As regards the last part, I understand that the original scheme of purchase included the resale to an English company of the industrial property in Great Britain, valued at about £200,000, and negotiations for this purpose are taking place.
§ 31 Mr. STANTONasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the total amount of wood pulp imported into Great Britain in 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916; what proportion of this came from Norway; and of the Norwegian consignment what proportion was imported by the Kellner-Partington Paper Pulp Company?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARYto the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Wardle): I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I returned to a similar question which he put to me on the 13th November.
§ 36. Mr. STANTONasked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether his attention has been directed to the fact that a large transfer of works and forests situated in Norway, Sweden, and Austria is about to be made from the Kellner-Partington Paper Pulp Company to a Norwegian syndicate; whether, as no sale of these Austrian properties is possible without the consent of the Austrian Government and without direct business relations with the enemy, he will have the correspondence of the directors of this company examined and find out to what extent they have been negotiating with the enemy; and if he will commence proceedings against them under the Trading With the Enemy Act?
§ Mr. BALDWIN (Joint Financial Secretary to the Treasury)Negotiations for the sale of the Austrian property of this company were licensed by the Treasury under the Trading With the Enemy Acts. No licence was necessary for the sale to a neutral purchaser of the other interests referred to in the question.
§ 38. Mr. STANTONasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, before sanctioning the transfer of the Kellner-Partington Pulp Company to a secret Norwegian syndicate, represented in this country by one Jans Frederiksen, he will have careful inquiries made in Copenhagen, Christiania, and Stockholm as to the actual relations between Frederiksen and the 984 Actien Gesellschaft fur Maschinen PapierFabrik, of Germany, whose works at Aschaffenburg, Memel, and other places, are now employed in the conversion of wood pulp into munitions of war and celluloid for Zeppelin manufacture?
§ Lord R. CECILMr. Frederiksen is a Norwegian barrister, who signed the contract of sale of the Kellner-Partington Company's properties on behalf of the Norwegian purchasers. As regards the general character of the latter, I would refer the hon. Member to the answers given yesterday.