§ 49. Mr. MacLaren (for Colonel Wedgwood)asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the figures of the gold held last September in the Exchange Equalisation Account, both used and sterilised, which were promised for publication during December; and whether, for comparison, he will give the comparable figures for the United States of America at about the same time?
§ Lieut.-Colonel ColvilleI would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Carlisle (Brigadier-General Spears) on 7th December. With regard to the second part of the question, I will, with his permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement of American gold holdings on the 30th September last, but I must point out that the American figures are not in all respects strictly comparable with ours.
§ Following is the statement:
| AMERICAN GOLD HOLDINGS, 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1937. | |
| Millions of fine ounces. | |
| Held against Gold Certificates* | 263.5 |
| Reserve against United States Notes | 4.5 |
| Exchange Stabilisation Fund | 51.4 |
| Inactive Gold | 34.6 |
| Other Gold in Treasury. | 10.0 |
| Total | 364.0 |
| * All but 2,400,000 ounces held on account of the Federal Reserve Banks. |