§ 17. Mr. LYLE-SAMUELasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that Captain W. R. Crow, late of the Timber Supply Department, has gone to Canada on behalf of Messrs. Spencer, Lock and Company, in order to arrange for supplies of box-boards from Canadian shippers, and that this gentleman before entering the Timber Supply Department had no knowledge of the box-board business; and whether he is aware that the knowledge Captain Crow possesses of this specialised branch of the timber business was acquired in the course of his duties in the Timber Supply Department, and that it was as a result of early information which he received at the Timber Supply Department that severe restrictions were to be placed on the importation of Scandinavian box-boards which led to his exploring the possibility of the Canadian source of supply before private firms were in a position to take similar steps?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANCaptain W. R. Crow was the head of that section of the Timber Supply Department dealing with the distribution of home-grown and imported timber in this country, and resigned, together with many other members of that section, when permits for the purchase of such timber were abolished, and he could be released. The announcement that all restrictions were to be removed in regard to the importation of all goods from within the British Empire was made in the House of Commons on the 7th March, which was some time after Captain Crow had retired from the Department. No knowledge that such freedom was to be granted was in the possession of the Department prior to the announcement in the House of Commons, and it therefore follows that Captain Crow was not aware before his retirement that the relaxation in question was to be made. The Timber Controller had no knowledge of Captain Crow's arrangements with the firm of Spencer, Lock and Company, other than an announcement in the "Timber Trade Journal," after his retirement, that he had joined that firm.
§ Mr. RAPERMay I ask whether or not it is the fact that Captain Crow had no knowledge at all of that particular branch of the timber business except what he obtained in his capacity as a servant of the Timber Supply Department?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI cannot say.