§ MR. WEBB (Waterford, W)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the mining rights, with easements of wood, water, and grazing-, west of the Limpopo River, from the Transvaal border to a boundary five miles west of the Notwane, its tributary, over an area extending 20 miles north and south, have been conceded by Sechele, Chief of the Bakwenas and Barkatlas, to a Mr. James Arthur Nicolls, a British subject; and whether such concession was registered in the office of the Administrator of British Bechuanaland in March or April, 1888?
§ *BARON H. DE WORMSSechele, the Chief of the Bakwenas, gave a concession to Mr. Nicolls in the country of his neighbour Lenchwe, the Chief of the Bakhatla. The latter refused to recognise the concession, or allow any work to be done under it. Sir Sidney Shippard intimated to the concessionaires that no pressure would be brought to bear on Lenchwe in their favour, and that, if the Chief persisted in his refusal to allow gold-prospecting in his county, the concessionaires would have no alternative but to abandon their enterprise. A copy of the concession may be in Sir S. Shippard's office, but it has not been "registered" there, if that phrase is intended to imply any recognition of it. Sir S. Shippard's action has been approved by the Secretary of State.
§ MR. A. O'CONNORHas such a concession been registered?
§ *BARON H. DE WORMSNo, Sir; it could not be registered if it was not granted by a person who had a right to grant it.