§ 8. Mr. Liptonasked the President of the Board of Trade why licences to import watches are still restricted to persons who were importers in 1939.
§ Sir D. EcclesImports of watches are severely restricted, and the admission of newcomers would reduce still further the trade open to already established importers.
§ Mr. LiptonIs it not time that this rather moth-eaten, twenty-year-old control was re-examined or revised? Will not the President of the Board of Trade allow at least one or two more to join this exclusive club, and in particular an ex-R.A.F. British refugee from Egypt, where he lost all his assets, who is now one of my constituents, who was formerly In the watch trade there, and who now wants to earn his living in the same line of business in this country?
§ Sir D. EcclesI agree that the present system is unsatisfactory, but no one has been able to suggest a better. If I did what the hon. Gentleman wants, I should have to discriminate among a great many applications for becoming watch importers.