§ Mr. WISEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) the amount of gold and silver held by the Austrian Republic; if the Reparations Committee has a lien on it;
(2) if the Hungarian Republic has any gold and silver; and, if so, has the Reparation Commission a lien on it?
§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSI am not aware that either the Austrian or Hungarian Government hold any gold or silver. Gold held by a private bank such as the Bank of Austria is not, of course, the property of the State. The Reparation Commission have a charge on the revenues and assets of Austria and of Hungary under Article 197 of the Treaty of St. Germain and Article 180 of the1394W Treaty of Trianon. As the hon. Member will be aware, the charge on Austria has been postponed for 20 years in order to permit of her economic reconstruction.