§ Mr. RAWLINSONasked the Prime Minister what sum, if any, has been paid or promised by the Government to Austria for the purpose of providing food for Austrian subjects in Austria; and what sum, if any, has been paid or promised by other Allied Governments for the same purpose?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe Prime Minister has asked me to take this question. No sum has been paid or promised by the Government to Austria for the purposes mentioned. In order to prevent a state of starvation in German-Austria His 897W Majesty's Government made an arrangement with the French and Italian Governments to supply a certain quantity of essential foodstuffs to German-Austria on the understanding that the United States Government would grant to each of the three countries a credit for the replacement of supplies of American origin. The cost of the supplies provided by His Majesty's Government is charged to the Vote of £12,500,000 for relief of devastated areas in Europe. The cost amounts to rather more than £3,000,000. I am not in possession of complete figures for the cost of supplies by the French and Italian Governments, but the combined expenditure of these two Governments is roughly twice that of His Majesty's Government. Without the supplies made out of these credits the condition of privation which now exists in Austria would have been one of starvation. A lien has been taken by the three Allied Powers on all Austrian gold, foreign securities, timber exports, salt mines, cities (including Vienna), and public utilties.