§ 11. Mr. RHYS DAVIESasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the reasons given by the Persian Government for cancelling its agreement with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Eden)The reasons given by the Persian Government for cancelling the concession were contained in their letter of the 27th November, in which they notified the company's representative at Teheran of the cancellation. The text of this letter and that of the company's reply appeared in the Press on the 7th December. A statement of the Persian Government's case has also been issued by the Persian Legation, and this appeared in the Press on the 2nd December.
§ Mr. DAVIESCan the hon. Gentleman give us briefly the main charge made by 7 the Persian Government that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company have broken the arrangements with them?
§ Mr. EDENNo, Sir. It would not be possible for me to attempt a synopsis of these two declarations. They are far too long and complicated.
§ Mr. MORGAN JONESMay we take it that negotiations by the company or by the Government on behalf of the company still continue with the Persian Government
§ Mr. THORNECan the hon. Gentleman nay whether it is the intention of the Government to chase the Shah of Persia with cat-o'nine tails between now and next February?
§ Mr. JONESMay I have an answer to my question? Are the negotiations between either the company and the Persian Government, or the Government, on behalf of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Persian Government, still continuing?
§ Mr. EDENThe position is that we have sent a further note to the Persian Government, as I informed the House on Thursday, and we have not yet received a reply.
Lieut.-Colonel MacANDREWHas my hon. Friend any information of any damage to the property of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company?
§ 19. Mr. THORNEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the date of the agreement made between the Persian Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the number of years for which the concession was granted; whether there is any clause to allow notice to be given by either side for the cancellation of such agreement; the percentage of royalties paid by the company to the Persian 'Government; the amount of royalties paid yearly to the nearest available date; the amount invested in the company by the British Government; and the amount of interest on such investments paid to the Government by the company?
§ Mr. EDENIn reply to the first part of the question, the agreement between the Persian Government and the Anglo- 8 Persian Oil Company is the D'Arcy Concession, which was granted by the Persian Government to Mr. William Knox D'Arcy in May, 1901, and eventually transferred, in accordance with its terms, to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909.
The concession was granted for a period of 60 years from May, 1901.As regards the third part of the question, the concession contains no provision which would now allow of its cancellation by either side. The only power of cancellation in the concession was a provision that, if within two years from the date of the concession, the concessionaire should not have formed the first company to operate the concession, the concession should become null and void. That clause never came into operation since the first exploitation company was duly formed within the prescribed period.As regards the fourth part of the question, the concession provides for the annual payment to the Persian Government of a sum equal to 16 per cent. of the annual net profits of any company or companies which might be formed to operate the concession.
As regards the fifth part of the question, the total sum (up to the nearest thousand) paid to the Persian Government in royalties up to 31st December, 1931, has amounted to £11,265,000. I am circulating details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
As regards the sixth part of the question, the present holdings of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company are as follow:
7,500,000 ordinary £1 shares; 1,000 £1 preference shares; £99,000 5 per cent. debentures.
As regards the last part of the question, the total amount which has been received by His Majesty's Government from the company in dividends and interest up to the present time is £9,977,344.
§ Mr. THORNEIf I put down another question, will the hon. Member be able to give me the number of directors in the company and the chairmanships they hold in other oil companies?
§ Mr. THORNEI have not any commercial knowledge.
§ Following are the details:
§ As regards the fifth part of the question, the amounts (to the nearest thousand pounds) of the royalties actually paid by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company to the Persian Government have been as follow:—
| £ | |
| For the period 1913 to 1919, an aggregate sum of | 1,326,000 |
| For the years ending on 31st March: | |
| 1920 | 469,000 |
| 1921 | 585,000 |
| 1922 | 593,000 |
| 1923 | 533,000 |
| 1924 | 411,000 |
| 1925 | 831,000 |
| 1926 | 1,054,000 |
| 1927 | 1,400,000 |
| 1928 | 502,000 |
| For the nine months ending 31st December, 1928 | 529,000 |
| For the years ending 31st December: | |
| 1929 | 1,437,000 |
| 1930 | 1,288,000 |
| 1931 | 307,000 |