§ 12. Sir PARK GOFFasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will instruct His Majesty's Ambassador at Rio de Janeiro to request the Brazilian authorities to agree to a 7½ per cent. ad valorem duty, to be collected by the British Customs on all shipments of fruit from the State of Rio de Janeiro landed in the United Kingdom, pending an agreement about the tramway and ferry fares of the Leopoldina Terminal and Cantareira companies, in order to reduce the hardships to British nationals caused by the delay in the decision on the accounts of those companies and by exchange remittance difficulties?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir John Simon)As I informed my hon. Friend, the Member for Bristol West (Mr. Culverwell) on the 22nd February, the Consultative Council of the State of Rio de Janeiro is considering the reports of the Commission of Inquiry which has been examining the books of the Cantareira Company. In the circumstances, I do not consider that any action on the part of His Majesty's Government is called for at present.
§ 13. Sir CHARLES CAYZERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, with regard to the unilateral decree of default by Brazil, he will state whether British creditors of Brazil were represented by the British Government in any negotiations or whether they were represented by the firms who were the loan flotation agents for the Brazilian authorities; and, if so, by what authority those firms represented British creditors of Brazil?
§ Sir J. SIMONI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I returned to my hon. and gallant Friend, the Member for Norfolk South-West (Sir A. McLean) on the 19th February, when I explained that, according to my information, responsibility for the plan embodied in the recent Brazilian decree rests solely with the Brazilian Government. In these circumstances the last part of the question does not arise.