§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the British taxpayers' holding of £750,000 preference shares in the British Cellulose Company is to be given away in order to increase the value of the ordinary shares in this company held by certain favoured individuals; and whether Parliament will have an opportunity of discussing and voting on this proposal before public money is given away in this manner?
Mr. YOUNGThe present position of the British Cellulose Company was fully explained by the chairman at the general meeting of the company, held yesterday, 1st May. The Government decided to surrender 750,000 preference shares as it was indispensable to the company to have further working capital unless they were to go into liquidation, and the Government arrived at the conclusion that it would be preferable to relinquish these shares rather than permit liquidation or contribute further capital, with the knowledge that by so doing there was a reasonable probability of the position of the company materially improving, and thus increasing the value of the shares retained by the Government. It was a condition of the surrender that the investors and certain other parties interested in the 1183W undertaking should enter into agreements of considerable advantage to the company. The shares surrendered were practically of no realisable value. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.