§ Mr. KENNEDYasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that British claimants of German debts are experiencing difficulty in securing payment on account of their inability to trace the German debtors; that in one case the claimant has been informed that the German clearing office cannot ascertain the debtor's address without further particulars; that all efforts to trace him have been in vain, and that, if no further information can be supplied by the claimant, the only course will be to withdraw the claim; and whether, in view of the impossibility of persons of small means residing in this country conducting inquiries in Germany, further assistance will be rendered in establishing their claims?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONI have been asked to reply. Owing to the length of time which has elapsed since the debts were contracted, it has been found in some cases that neither German nor British debtors can be traced at the addresses given by the creditors, and an agreement between the British and German Clearing Offices is in operation whereby the Debtor Office takes exhaustive steps to 2031W trace the missing debtors, both through the police and by private enquiries. Creditors are further allowed, where these enquiries prove ineffective, to keep their claims open at the Creditor Clearing Office with a view to their resubmission later to the Debtor Office, in the event of the debtor's address being discovered.