§ Mr. BONAR LAWI wish to announce to the House the results of last week's War Bond campaign. The sales of National War Bonds of the Bank of England series amounted to £127,870,240, of which upwards of £75,000,000 was contributed by London.
To this must be added the sales of the Post Office issues, which, it is estimated, amounted to £2,900,000, making a total of £130,770,240.
In addition, the sales of War Savings Certificates for the week realised £8,100,000—a grand total of £138,870,240. I think the House will agree that this is a very satisfactory result, and I desire to take this opportunity of thanking all those who, in conjunction with the Director of the Publicity Campaign, have co-operated so whole-heartedly with the Government in making this week a success.
I have received from all parts of the country letters and communications which show that every class and every district have done their part. I should like to make special mention of the efforts of the National War Savings Committee and the officers and members of their local committees throughout the country.
As was the case in connection with the War Loan of last year, the Government has also received the most cordial and unsparing assistance from all local authorities. Our thanks are also due to the Aldwych Club for organising the campaign, and to the Press. Newspapers of every shade of opinion have done their utmost to obtain the largest possible contribution during the week.
322 It may interest the House to know that Since the beginning of last October, when the issue of National War Bonds began, the amount of these bonds sold has reached a total of approximately £570,000,000.
The effect of the War Bond Campaign has not only been seen in the increasing sales of the bonds, but also in the results obtained from the sales of certificates. To illustrate this, I may say that for the month of September last the sales realised £2,800,000, whilst last February the sales amounted to no less than £8,100,000.
One result of the campaign of last week has, I think, been to make the advantages of investing in War Bonds even more widely known than before, and I am convinced that it will have a lasting effect in stimulating the week-by-week contributions, which are the best indication of the determination of the country to continue the sustained effort that has already been so successful.
§ Colonel YATECan the right hon. Gentleman say how many millions of the £570,000,000 would otherwise have come in to the Treasury in the shape of excess profits?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWIt is obviously quite impossible to tell, but I may say that we have done everything that we could to discourage investment in War Bonds of money which would immediately come into the Exchequer in the form of taxation.