§ 33. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Prime Minister what is the total debt row owed by His Majesty's Government to the United States of America Government; how much of this debt is for goods or services supplied to this country; how much for goods and services supplied to 732 other Allies and underwritten by us; of this latter sum how much was incurred before and how much after the entry of America into the War; and who was responsible for our consenting to underwrite this last sum?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Lieut.-Commander Hilton Young)The debt of the British Government to the United States Government on 31st March, 1921, was $4,197,000,000 (£.862,000,000 at par of exchange) exclusive of interest. The remainder of the question seems to be based on a misapprehension which my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal has frequently tried to correct. I would refer particularly to his answers to questions put by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington, South (Sir W. Davison) on the 22nd February and 1st March. The debt represents advances made by the United States Government to the British Government towards meeting the dollar requirements of the British Government during the period after the United States of America entered the War, arising either directly from purchases in the United States of America or indirectly for support of exchange. During the same period during which the British Government was thus borrowing from the United States Government, it was lending a sum of £897,000,000 to Allied Governments, in addition to £828,000,000 lent to the Allied Governments before the United States of America entered the War. Had the British Government been relieved of the necessity of lending this £897,000,000 to the Allied Governments, it would, so far as can be judged, have been unnecessary for the British Government to ask financial assistance from the United States Government.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODAm I to understand from that that the £800,000,000 lent by us to our Allies was not for goods bought in the United States by those Allies, but for general purposes?
§ Lieut.-Commander YOUNGThat is so.