asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if, in view of its importance and the fact that its companion volume is owned by Edinburgh university, he will arrange that a special grant should be made to purchase for a British institution Rashid Al-Din's World History, a Persian manuscript of 1314 which was sold at Sotheby's recently for £850,000.

The question of financial help in such a case could arise only if an export licence were withheld and a public collection wishing to acquire the item did not have the necessary funds to pay the specified price.