HC Deb 30 November 1927 vol 211 cc496-8
47 and 58. Colonel HOWARD-BURY

asked (1) the Prime Minister whether, in view of the value of the Dead Sea salts concession to the British Empire, he will take steps to ensure that the control remains in British hands, that the company is a British company, and that the chairman is a British subject or that the Government, as in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, will obtain a controlling interest by the purchase of shares;

(2) the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received any applications for the Dead Sea salts con- cession; and whether he has in contemplation the selection of any one applicant or group of applicants?

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend to reply to these questions. Four applications were received, and it was decided in principle to grant a. concession to Major Tulloch and Mr. Novomeysky based on their offer, provided that suitable terms and conditions could be agreed upon with them and that they furbished satisfactory financial guarantees. Negotiations on these points are still proceeding, and it is not possible at present to state what provisions the concession, if granted, will include. There is no proposal, however, that His Majesty's Government should obtain a controlling interest by the purchase of shares in the concessionary company.

Colonel HOWARD-BURY

Is not my right hon. Friend aware of the vital importance of this concession., as the deposits of potash alone are worth £14,000,000,000 to-day, of which Germany up to the present has a monopoly, and in view of its vital importance to the Empire, will not the Government consider acquiring a controlling interest?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

I really think the hon. Member's figures are astronomical.

Colonel HOWARD-BURY

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that it is his own Government geologist who produced those figures?

Mr. MONTAGUE

Are not the Government still an authority upon Dead Sea fruit?

Colonel WEDGWOOD

Would it not be advisable in these cases that the Government should have an interest similar to their interest in Anglo-Persian oil? Is there any reason why the Government should not take a financial interest?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

That is a matter that has been examined, but whatever these salts may or may not be worth, the process of getting them out and the process of marketing them makes the whole business very experimental and necessarily speculative, and I do not think it is advisable to ask the British taxpayer to invest money, certainly not at this stage, in enterprises of this kind.

Mr. SKELTON

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the importance of limiting the concession, whatever its nature may be, very strictly as far as time is concerned?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

Oh, most certainly. The terms of any concession of this kind are bound to include development conditions and things of that kind, so that the thing cannot be taken and locked up for all time.

Mr. SKELTON

I mean, will the right hon. Gentleman also consider that any concession should be given only for a very limited number of years?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

That it should be leasehold. I think certainly, but I cannot verify without reference details of that kind. If the hon. Gentleman will put down a question as to the lease suggested, I will give him an answer, but all these things are being negotiated, and I may not be able to divulge them.