MEESE SEES A PLUS IN CHRYSLER-AMC MERGER Attorney General Edwin Meese said he saw some benefit in the proposed purchase of American Motors Co <AMO> By Chrysler Corp <C> in that it would return the smallest of the U.S. auto manufacturers to American hands. Meese told the House Appropriations Subcommittee that consideration would be part of the Justice Department's review of the proposed merger. He said the agency has not yet received a formal notice of the merger which would start the review process. Chrysler has made a 1.3 billion dlr bid to buy AMC from its French parent Renault. "I think one of the things that has to be recognized in that merger is that it appears, at least, that a good portion of the ownership of American Motors, which has been in overseas hands will be put back in American hands," Meese told the subcommittee. "That may be one of the factors that would be weighed in the judgment," he added. Renault currently holds about 46 pct of AMC.