§ Mr. FIELDasked the First Lord of the Treasury whether he is aware that the British Government is the only exception amongst all commercial countries that has not either proposed or passed legislation to prohibit gambling in options and futures; whether, in view of the proposed Canadian-American reciprocity agreement, and that the Canadian Government passed its Criminal Code Act in 1892, prohibiting such gambling transactions with the one object of preventing American 1353W manipulations of its products, stocks, and shares on the Canadian exchanges, the Government will consider the advisability of adopting similar legislative measures for British and Irish exchanges in order to protect the producers, manufacturers, workers, and consumers, and various interests concerned in the three Kingdoms, India, South Africa, Canada, and other Colonies from International gambling operations in agriculture, trade, and finance; and whether, in order to make such legislation effective, the Government will arrange to put forward this subject, under consideration, at the forthcoming Imperial Conference to be held in London, to ensure Imperial co-operative legislation?
§ The PRIME MINISTERIn view of the number of subjects to be brought forward at the Conference and the limited time available, I am not prepared to recommend that this subject should be discussed.