§ Sir JOHN HARMOOD-BANNERasked the President of the Board of Trade whether money standing to the credit of enemies or branches of enemy concerns and debts due to them in the United Kingdom, and royalties or other sums due or payable to enemies in respect of the British rights in German and Austrian patents, are included in the enemy property in the United Kingdom officially stated to amount to £97,000,000, and, if not, why such valuable property was omitted from the Act passed in November last, and will any steps be taken to remedy this omission; when the Government intends to require a complete return to be made of all enemy property and rights, without exception, in the United Kingdom belonging to or in which an enemy of this country or the branch or agency of an enemy business is interested, and to keep a register open to public inspection of all such property; has the Public Trustee, as custodian of enemy property, or the Board of Trade taken any active step or initiative 385W to ascertain the whereabouts or to obtain possession of enemy property and rights in the United Kingdom; and have the Government decided to give a preference to British creditors over their enemy debtors' property in the United Kingdom, or is it intended that all enemy property will be put into hotchpot and divided pro rata between all British creditors?
Mr. RUNCIMANThe enemy property in this country to the amount of £97,000,000, which has now been increased to £100,000,000, of which the Public Trustee has received information in accordance with the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1914, does not include money standing to the credit of enemies, or debts or royalties due to enemies, but the question of introducing legislation to extend the provisions of the Act is under consideration. Steps have been taken by the Public Trustee and the Board of Trade to secure compliance with the requirements of the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, and proceedings have been instituted by the Director of Public Prosecutions on information laid before him by the Board of Trade, showing that there has been a failure to disclose certain property as required by the Act. Sections 4 and 5 of the Act contain provisions for enabling a creditor of an enemy to obtain payment of his debt out of property which that enemy may have in this country, but it is not at present proposed to make the property of individual enemies available for the payment of debts due by others.