§ 118. Mr. Edenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the nature of the request made to holders of War Loan in June, 1932, by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, he will, at at early date, redeem at par the 3½ per cent. War Loan now held by holders of the original 5 per cent. War Loan; and if he will state the number of individual holders involved and the cost, today, of such repayment.
Mr. AmoryNo—to restrict redemption to such stock holders would be tantamount to breaking the terms of issue. I regret that an estimate of the number of stock holders who have held the stock since 1932 is not readily available and could not be obtained without undue expenditure of time and effort. To redeem the stock now would add some £30 million a year to the cost of servicing the National Debt.