London, May 11 Government purchase of whale oil Íor war emergency purposes, which was announced by Sir John Simon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his recent Budget speech, was the subject of a question in the House of Commons yesterday by Sir Robert. Rankin, Conservative member for the Kirkdale division of Liverpool.
Sir Robert Rankin asked whether it would be possible to purchase palm oil and cocoanut oil from West Africa, Malaya and Ceylon instead of "whale oil from Japan.
Mr. J. Colville, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, replied that no whale oil had been purchased from Japan.
Whale oil he added, was mi table for storage than any alter-naive source of edible fat, and it ras the only commodity of its kind which could be purchased without running a risk of undue rise in prices and injury to normal users—Reuter.
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