SOVIET GOLD

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 55, 2 September 1926, Page 9

SOVIET GOLD

THE FLOW INTO BRITAIN HOME SECRETARY EXPLAINS. In the House of Commons tho situation in regard to the contribution of Russian money in support of the British miners on strike was explained by tho Home Secretary, Sir William Joyn-son-Hieks recently, states "The Post's" London correspondent. The Home Secretary said:— "His Majesty's Government is satisfied that the Soviet Government waived the regulations for the export of money in order to enable the AIl-Rus-sian Central Council of Trade Unions to transmit certain funds to this country in aid of the general strike, and subsequently in aid of the miners' strike. It was further satisfied that for all practical purposes in this connection the^ Government of Soviet Eussia and the various Communist and trade union organisations of that country are instruments of a single controlling authority, and this view is in accord with the statements in the' Note of the present Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ramsay MaeDonald, which he sent to the Russian Government on 24th October, 1924. The first sum of £26,427 which came to one of our London banks was refused by the Trade Union Congress. A second sum of £200,000 was.'sent from .Moscow by transfers of £175,000 from tho Deutsche Bank of Berlin and £25,000 from an American bank, with instructions from Russia immediately to transfer £100,000, part of this sum, to ' the Trade Union Congress. His Majesty's Government has been under no illusions as to the motives which inspire these professedly eleemosynary gifts, and, as soon as 1 received this information, I gave directions to the London bank in question not to make such transfer, and the money was, with my assent, returned to Moscow." DETAILS OF PAYMENTS. Tho Home Secretary then enumerated the sums which had been received from Russia. From the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions:—22nd May, £274,551 approximately; Ist June, £42,238, approximately; 3rd June, £34,511, -approximately; 9th June, £28,826, approximately; makim* a total of £380,126. From the Ukraine Co-operatives: 2nd June, £1070; from Centrdsoyus.'and the Agricultural Cooperatives, 3lst May, £2700. "Tho Government," continued Sir WiJJjiam, "is not blind to the . motive's* which inspire these contributions, and which can be read in countless declarations by Soviet loaders and in the Soviet Press, but the general strike was happily of short duration, and, having made its protest in the most formal manner to the Soviet Government, His Majesty's Government does not propose, at present at all events, to take the step^-the withdrawal of recognition of the Soviet ■ Government.'. Equally, it is not disposed to forbid so-called charitable gifts to thosewho are concerned: in an industrial dispute. At the same. time it is. my duty_ to say that His Majesty's Government is continually and carefully watching the further .'action of the Soviet Government and its affiliated organisations, and if at any time it should be convinced that British interests' required a change of policy, it would not hesitate to take the necessary steps."