More Light Shed on Subject as Question is Raised in British Parliament (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The concession to exploit the salts of the Dead Sea has in principle been granted to Novomejski, Jewish engineer, and Tulloch, British engineer, provided they will furnish satisfactory financial guarantees, was the statement made in the House of Commons today by Major Ormsby Gore, Under-secretary for the colonies.
Negotiations are still proceeding, the secretary stated. He is unable to say now what provisions the concession will include, but no proposal is included for the British government to obtain a controlling interest by a purchase of shares in the concessionaire company.
Whatever the salts may be worth, Major Ormsby Gore declared, the process of extracting the salts and marketing is experimental and is still of a speculative nature.
It is therefore inadvisable to ask the British taxpayer to invest money in the enterprise at this stage. The government will see that the concession will only be a leasehold and not a concession for all time, he declared.
The question of the Dead Sea concession was raised in the House of Lords by Sir John Islington who is anxious that a British company secure the contract to exploit the salts of the Dead Sea, the government participating as in the Anglo-Persian Company, to protect the British
NOVOMEJSKI AND TULLOCH TO GET DEAD SEA CONCESSION
interests and also to avoid a continental potash monopoly. Major General Simon Lovat speaking for the government replied that the concession has been granted only in principle, that nothing had been signed or sealed.
The group which is seeking to obtain the concession must, according to the provisions, work independently of other syndicates or companies.
The Palestine and Tranajordanian government must share in the profit. The Government is fully aware of the strategic importance of the deposit, but the value of the Dead Sea potash is not yet fully established. The government is watching the political and economic aspect of the matter, he declared.
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