§ 12. Mr. SAMUEL SAMUELasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action the Foreign Office intend to take to recover the amounts due to British subjects in Basra and Bagdad for advances made by British merchants to native merchants prior to the outbreak of war for goods to be consigned to London, 630 where the goods were actually shipped consigned to London on a British ship in payment of such advances, and the goods were seized on arrival in London and confiscated, and the proceeds taken by the Government, the only losers through the action of the Government being British merchants resident in London; and will the Government take immediate steps to recover the advances on behalf of the British merchants from the Turkish merchants?
The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. C. Harms-worth)All claims received by the Foreign Office in respect of advances against cargoes in such cases have been duly referred to the Prize Claims Committee. It is understood that certain payments have already been made to the firms concerned, and the Committee will no doubt recommend that the claimants shall receive relief in all proper cases.