§ 19. Mr. Blenkinsopasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates has been the effect of recent United States purchases of shares in British companies upon our dollar balances; and to what extent these purchases have been made out of security sterling.
§ Sir E. BoyleIn my view the effect on our dollar balances has been negligible. Virtually all of the purchases have been made with security sterling.
§ Mr. BlenkinsopIs the Minister aware of the very large volume of these purchases recently, especially in certain important chemical firms, and does he disregard as of no importance the possibility of transfer of ownership, on a large scale, of shares in the British chemical industry? Does he prefer that to the idea of the public ownership of British industry?
§ Sir E. BoyleThe electors, at the last Election, certainly showed no enthusiasm for the public ownership of the British chemical industry.