INQUIRY WELCOMED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22137, 17 June 1935, Page 12

INQUIRY WELCOMED

asms industry VICKERS' ANNUAL MEETING STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN A defence by the chairman of the largest British armament firm and an offer to allow the Royal Commission which is now investigating the British arms traffic to "see any papers they like" were two outstanding features of Vickers' recent annual general meeting, states the Christian Science Monitor. "We welcome the Government's inquiry," the chairman. General Sir Herbert Lawrence, told the shareholders, "as it should provide an opportunity to dispel misconceptions which exist regarding the conduct of armament firms. At the American inquiry," the general contended, "ex parte statements have been allowed, unsupported by evidence, which are totally untrue, and extracts from personal letters have been construed as implying an interpretation for which there is no substance in fact."

"The armament firms in Great Britain," Sir Herbert continued, "carry on a legitimate business under strict control by Government departments. As the shareholders know, the profits during the past 15 years have been meagre, yielding but a small return for the heavy capital outlay on the shops and plant which it is necessary to maintain in case of a national emergency." According to one of the shareholders present, the average return on the company's £1 ordinary shares for the period 1913 to 1926 was 6| per cent. Questions by Shareholders

The suggestion that because Vickers was engaged on the production of the means of defence and of the equipment required by the British Army, and Air Force, its directors "desire to foster war," was characterised by the chairman as being "as untrue as it is unjust." "Your company, the general exclaimed, "does not seek to bring any influence to bear to increase the demand for armaments in this or any other country." * Major J. E. Marston, a shareholder who was awarded the D.5.0.. M.C. and Croix de Guerre during the World War, asked for information regarding Vickers connection with foreign armament firms. "I am an ex-regular soldier, like our chairman, who served on Gallipoli," he said. "You must know that our men wero killed by guns and shells manufactured by the company over which he now presides. I should like a definite assurance that armaments made in this country are not sold to possible future enemies of Britain. We do not want a repetition of the tragedy of Gallipoli, he added. Was it true, he asked, that Vickers had a factory in Turkey? And was it true, as had been stated at the American arms inquiry, that Vickers had taken a leading part in starting the Chaco War? Another shareholder, Mr. McKinnon Wood, asked what proportions of Vickers products were home armaments, foreign armaments and commercial, respectively. Government Supervision

Mrs. G. E. C. Catlin, better known as Miss Vera Brittain, the novelist, asked that the company's files and orders should be made available for the inspection of the British Armaments Commission in order to "dispel doubts, created by the American inquiry." In reply to all these questions, Sir Herbert Lawrence said that a very small proportion of the company's armaments were for export. Vickers had no factory in Turkey, to whom they had sold only a few _ aeroplanes and tanks. Nothing was being sold to Germany, and moreover, nothing could be sold "without the closest scrutiny of the Government." Sir Herbert also stated that it was impossible to "say off-hand what was the proportion of commercial to armament production." At Sheffield he said it was roughly 70 to 30, while at Barrow and Newcastle, combined, it might be approximately 55 to 45.

Net Profit Increase The chairman asked shareholders not to press for information which might come before the Royal Commission investigating the arms traffic. "They can see any papers they like," the general concluded. Terminating the meeting with a vote of thanks to the chairman, the Earl of Dudley said: "A number of people do not realise this is a business and not a Government department or a philanthropic institution." Vickers' net profits for the past year amounted to £613,261 —an increase of nearly £70,000 over 1933. An increased dividend of 6 per cent on the ordinary share capital was declared. To-day, Vickers-Armstrong works and subsidiary companies have 30,200 employees, compared with 24,600 in January, 1934.