196 FOREIGN CAPITAL

to bearer would be required to surrender their
warrants for cancellation and have their names
entered in the register, and all subsequent allottees
and transferees would be subject to the obligation of
disclosure, as already described, and the limits of
20 per cent, recommended in the case of merchant
shipping would then be made applicable. Under the
system of disclosure it follows that bearer shares are
impossible, but, if disclosure be negatived, the opinion
of the Committee is in favour of the maintenance of
the bearer share.

It should be mentioned that one member of the
Committee produced a reservation strongly com-
bating even the very moderate views expressed by
the Committee on the subject of British shipping and-
"key" industries. It should be noted, however,
that he attended very few meetings of the Com-
mittee. He points out that, with regard to the
registration of ships as British when they are owned
by a company which has alien shareholders, "it is
not usually a question of permitting a ship which
would in any case be British to be under the control
of aliens; the question is whether, if a number of
persons, some or all of whom are aliens, own a ship;
they should be permitted to register it as a British
ship by forming themselves into a British company
and establishing an office in the British Dominions.
If," he observes, " they were not allowed to do so
they would still own the ship, but register it as a
foreign ship in some other country. It appears that
a number of ships were registered here before the war
by companies with alien shareholders (some even