§ Mr. FIELDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Baring failure of 1890 was primarily caused by the unsuccessful attempt of Barings to corner silver in America and London, and by the successful cornering by other powerful financiers of the Argentine paper currency in Buenos Ayres, and that these financial gambling operations finally resulted in a depreciation by 1894 of 51 per cent, in the price of silver, and in a rise to over 350 in the gold premium in Argentina, and that these resulted in the collapse of Barings and in the bankruptcy of Argentina, with a depreciation in securities on the American and European Stock Exchanges of £200,000,000; and whether, under such facts, combined with those of the cornering of silver in 1912, he will introduce legislation with the view of putting an end to these gambling bull and bear operations in options and futures of silver and in finance in general?
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§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI am unable to verify the statements made in the early parts of the question; and, as regards the last part, I cannot undertake to introduce legislation on these matters.