§ Mr. Holmanasked the President of the Board of Trade why general payment of business scheme claims continues to be postponed, considering that this is the only section of war damage insurance which is roughly self-supporting, since premiums nearly equal the total of claims, and especially in view of the fact that all other classes of claims, including those where premiums form a negligible fraction of the total claims, have been met substantially in full.
§ Mr. H. WilsonThere is provision in the War Damage Act for making early payment in any case in which the Board of Trade are satisfied that the replacement or repair of the goods is expedient in the public interest or that payment is160W necessary in order to avoid undue hardship. This provision is being interpreted with reasonable latitude and the Government do not consider it desirable in the present financial situation to pay out very large sums which are not required on one or other of the grounds to which I have referred.