§ Mr. R. MORRISONasked the President of the Board of Trade if he can give the House any further information about the tenders for the Furniss Withy motor boats; how many British firms were invited to tender; and whether there was any considerable difference between the highest and lowest British tender?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERMessrs. Furness, Withy and Company inform me that early in 1924 they issued specifications for these vessels to a number of British shipbuilders, and at that time no tenders were invited from abroad. The prices were prohibitive, and it was decided to postpone placing the orders in the hope that in the course of a few months prices would fall. A few weeks ago the owners received intimation of much lower prices from Germany, and to put the matter to the test they issued their specification to the German yard, and at the same time invited five of the largest shipbuilding groups in this country to tender on exactly the same specification. The British quotations ranged between £60,000 and £100,000 in excess of the German price. The earliest delivery mentioned in the case of the German quotation was 10 months, and in the case of the British 14 months. The contracts were offered to British shipbuilders at £10,000 per ship in excess of the German price. Sir Frederick Lewis has already given evidence about these contracts before Sir Arthur Balfour's Committee on Trade and Industry, and has appeared before the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation; he has also expressed his willingness to meet the unions.
§ Mr. BOOTHBYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the five ships recently ordered by Messrs. Furness, Withy and Company to be built in German yards will be subject to the duty of 26 per cent. under the German Reparations Recovery Act?
Mr. GUINNESSThe levy of 26 per cent. under the German Reparation (Re-1140W covery) Act, 1921, is chargeable only on "goods" imported into this country. I am advised that if the ships in question arrive in this country under their own power they will not be "goods" within the meaning of the Act, and accordingly will not be subject to the levy. I would add that the levy is an amount deducted by the importer from the price and reimbursed to the German exporter by the German Government, and is thus not a "duty" in the usual sense of the word.