§ 51. Mr. EDWARD WILLIAMSasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is able to state what loans have been contracted by Bolivia since 1926; whether he is aware that the loan of 9,088,200 dollars obtained by Dr. Hernando Siles, the then President of Bolivia, from Messrs. Vickers-Armstrong was obtained on the condition that it should be used for the purchase of war material in England; whether this loan has been refunded and, if so, when; and what amount of it was spent on the purchase of arms from this firm?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT the available in- 31 formation as to the foreign loans contracted by Bolivia since 1926. So far as I am aware, it is not the case that President Siles obtained a loan from Messrs. Vickers-Armstrong; the remainder of the question does not, therefore, arise.
§ Following is the information:
§ FOREIGN LOANS obtained by the Bolivian Government since 1926.
§ 1927.—A loan of $14 million from Messrs. Dillon Read & Co.
§ 1928.—A loan of $23 million from Messrs. Dillon Read & Co.
§ 1929.—A loan of £180,000 from South American Mining Company in return for concession of Atocha Villazon Railway.
§ 1930.—A loan of $2 million from Union Allumetière Company of Brussels in return for the concession of a match monopoly in Bolivia.
§ January, 1934.—A loan of 8,400,000 Swiss francs from the Swiss Banking Corporation to Central Bank of Bolivia.
§ March, 1934.—A loan of £500,000 by Patino Mining Company to Central Bank of Bolivia.