§ 79 and 80. Mr. Sunderlandasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he will make a statement upon the acquisition of a Lancashire cotton mill by a London financial company at a price equivalent to nearly £4 per spindle; and whether he is aware of any other offers being made by London financiers for Lancashire cotton mills;
(2) whether he is prepared to take steps to prevent a recurrence of the experiences during the years following the 1914 to 1918 war, when London financiers started a recapitalisation ramp in the Lancashire cotton industry with disastrous results to the industry and the country.
§ Mr. Ellis Smith; -I am aware of the transaction to which my hon. Friend refers, but not of any others. The situation in Lancashire, and in regard to the measure of control which the Government can exercise, is very different from that existing after the 1914–1918 war, and I will watch that the abuses of that period are not repeated.