§ 23. Captain ERSKINE-BOLSTasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that English merchants holding stocks of Russian produce in Russia prior to the War found, on the outbreak of war, that they were prevented from carrying on their normal trade, and in consequence received cash advances from banks in this country on the security of the goods stored in Russia, and that these goods have since been seized by the Russian Government and, in consequence of the interpretation placed upon the Anglo-Russian Trade Agreement, many of these merchants arc practically faced with ruin; and whether he will make a statement on the subject?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEI am aware that serious hardship has been caused in many cases by the action of the Russian Government in confiscating property without paying compensation; and, as I stated in a previous answer, His Majesty's Government will not fail to take all practicable steps to secure an equitable settlement.