§ 8. Sir WALTER de FRECEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his Department will publish information showing, in the light of dividends paid, the relative prosperity of limited liability companies now and in 1913 (assuming they existed in the former period) as a guide to the progress of national industry?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThere are no available figures relating to limited liability companies as a whole. Some interesting information, however, is published quarterly in the "Economist"; and for particulars of recent years I would refer my hon. Friend to the number of that journal published on the 26th April. In respect of the limited liability companies whose accounts are reviewed in the "Economist," the dividend paid in the year ending June, 1914, represented a return of about 5.1 per cent. on the issued preference capital, and of nearly 10.5 per cent. on the issued ordinary capital, while the corresponding figures for the 12 months ending March, 1925, were 5.4 per cent. and 10.0 per cent.
§ Mr. MONTAGUEDoes the right hon. Gentleman think that the terms of this return really do show the progress or otherwise of national industry?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERNo; I think it would be extraordinarily difficult to found any argument one way or another upon what is admittedly a very limited set of figures, but as these figures are published by the "Economist," I thought probably my hon. Friend might like to have them.