§ 58. Mr. Stokesasked the Lord President of the Council whether he proposes to instruct the Scientific Advisory Committee to inquire into the higher direction of our scientific war effort?
§ The Lord President of the Council (Sir John Anderson)No, Sir. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Production has, however, had the benefit of the advice of the Scientific and Engineering Advisory Committees in the selection of three men of scientific and technical eminence whom he has recently appointed to his staff on a whole-time basis.
§ Mr. BellengerDoes my right hon. Friend understand that this matter should not be limited to one Department of State alone, but should be spread over the whole conduct of the war, and has he any statement to make in respect of that?
§ Sir J. AndersonNo, Sir.
§ Following is the statement showing rate of annual interest at which certain belligerent nations are borrowing for the purpose of financing their war expenditures.
| — | For 12 months or less. | For a period over 12 months and not more than 10 years. | For 10 years or more. | ||
| United Kingdom | … | … | 1%* | 2½%† | 3%† |
| U.S.A. | … | … | ½% (average) | 1½% | 2½% |
| Russia‡ | … | … | — | — | 4% tax free |
| China§ | … | … | 5% | 4% and 6% | — |
| Germany | … | … | 2⅛% to 2⅞% | — | 3½% |
| Italy | … | … | 3¼% to 5% | about 5.4% | — |
| * Approximate average for year ended 30th June, 1942. | |||||
| † Excluding "small savings" securities. | |||||
| ‡The latest Russian loan was for 20 years and was divided into two parts—(1) a lottery loan for general subscription carrying prizes equivalent to interest at 4 per cent. per annum, and (2) an issue for artels and co-operative organisations carrying interest at 2 per cent. All the bonds of the loan and the incomes from them, including prizes, are exempt from all taxes. | |||||
| §According to information given by Chinese Ministry of Finance. |