17 APRIL 1920, Page 3

The Government last week sold the motor transport repair depot

near Slough to a private syndicate for .£3,350,000. The -depot had cost £2;500,000, so that the Government have made a profit of £850;000 on the transaction. The surplus stock of motor transport was sold to the same syndicate for £3,650,000, on condition that the State should share any additional profit if -the cars and lorries fetched higher prices than were expected. The sales of surplus-cars and lorries, apart.from this, had realized £14,000;000 ; included in this total were motor-vehicles to the value of £4,500,000 which had been repaired at Slough during the past nine months. Thus Lord Inverforth triumphs over the -reckless newspaper critics who, in order to damage the Coalition Ministry, persistently maintained that the Slough depot was a white elephant. During the railway strike of last autumn the motor-lorries from Slough proved of great value in maintaining the milk supply of London.