§ 35. Sir R. Aclandasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the results of his inquiries to find out the causes of the cancellation by South Africa of orders for important equipment due for delivery in 1950 and 1951; what steps he has taken, or is taking, to persuade the South African Government to reconsider the 94W cancellation of these orders, and to prevent any recurrence of such delays on similar orders from abroad in the future.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftI understand that the statement made by the South African Minister of Transport on 18th June referred to cancellation in the case of only one order, and that in this case the order has not been cancelled, but new delivery conditions have been arranged. We have asked the South African Government to let us know if any troubles arise over particular orders in the future. I hope that the South African Government will refer these to us before considering cancellation so that we may first investigate the causes for delay and do what we can to help.