§ Mr. R. GWYNNEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the firm of Messrs. H. R. Merton and Company has been reorganised so as to exclude the German interest; whether 550 shares formerly held by Oscar Langebach are now held by Oscar Lang, 1,250 shares formerly held by Heinrich Schwarz are now held by Harry Ferdinand Staton, and 11,875 shares, formerly held by Schweizerische Gesellschaft fur Mctall-werke, Basle, Switzerland, are now held by the Société Suisse pour Valeurs de Metaux, Basle; and what connection, if any, the previous holders of these shares have with the present holders?
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§ Mr. PRETYMANThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. There has been no change in the ownership of the shares referred to in the remainder of the question. The first two shareholders mentioned are naturalised British subjects who have changed their names, and the third is a Swiss company which uses both a French and German title.
§ Mr. GWYNNEasked whether the firm of H. R. Merton and Company have been declared an enemy concern by the Commonwealth Government; whether they are still allowed to trade in this country; whether the British Government have been and are still buying metals through this firm; and whether his attention has been called to the remarks of one of His Majesty's judges of the High Court, in giving judgment in the Bilbster case, in which he stated that Messrs. Merton and Company made a payment in order to try and preserve certain goods for the owners, whom they knew to be enemies, and to gain some possible advantage to themselves, or their principals, or co-adventurers, the Metallgesellschaft, of Frankfort, and that, in acting thus, they appeared not to have hesitated to engage in commercial intercourse with the enemies of this country?
§ Mr. PRETYMANThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but the company has now applied to be reinstated on the ground that the German interest is now eliminated. The answers given by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for War and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty to the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy Burghs on 26th October, 1915, show that metals have been purchased from this company by their Government Departments. As to the last part of the question, I must refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Attorney-General to the hon. Member for West Wolverhampton on 9th November, 1915.