§ 20. Mr. Dempseyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the exchange of Scottish £ notes in England for less than £1.
§ Mr. CallaghanNo, Sir. I do not know of any Scotsman who would accept less than 20s. for a £.
§ Mr. DempseyIs my right hon. Friend aware that Scotsmen in certain parts of England, particularly Manchester and Birmingham, have no option but to accept 19s. 6d. for the Scottish £ because that is all they get; and has the recent case been drawn to his attention of a Service man who was refused the right to spend two Scottish £ notes in a Naafi in Malaya on the ground that they were worthless; and will——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Even if the Scottish £ is short, the Question must also be short.
§ Mr. DempseyThe fact is that these Scottish £ notes have to be given away more or less as matters of local interest as souvenirs.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I think the Chancellor is seized of the Question.
§ Mr. DempseyWhile——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman must resume his seat. Mr. Callaghan.
§ Mr. CallaghanI am quite willing to offer the hon. Gentleman, shall we say, 19s. 9d. for any £ note. I do not want to exacerbate relations, and I am sure that it will produce a lot of correspondence in the Treasury, but the simple truth is that Scottish £ notes are not legal tender.
§ Mr. SpeakerMr. Edward M. Taylor.
§ Mr. DempseyOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of that most unsatisfactory answer by the right hon. Gentleman, I wish to give notice that I will make every effort possible to raise this matter on the Adjournment.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman should give notice in the usual form, but, by doing so, he now cuts out other supplementary questions in support of his point of view.