§ 93. Mr. WISEasked the. President of the Board of Trade the terms and conditions on which the French Government has assisted in the insurance, and in financing the construction of, liners or other ships; and whether any assistance of a similar nature has been afforded by other Governments to their nationals, and on what conditions?
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHI have no recent information regarding the assistance given by the French Government in the matters to which my hon. Friend refers beyond that which has been published in the Press. Under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Acts, 1928 (known as the Jones-White Act), the United States Government have wide powers to grant assistance to United States shipping in various matters, including insurance and construction. State assistance in some form is also, so far as I am aware, given to shipbuilding in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Jugo-Slavia, Norway, Spain and Sweden. An account of subsidies to shipping and shipbuilding in certain countries was given in Annex II, Chapter III, of the Survey of Overseas Markets issued in 1925 by the Committee on Industry and Trade.