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Motion made, and Question proposed,
That a Supplementary sum, not exceeding £4,650, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1940, for the salaries and expenses of the Department of His Majesty's Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.
§ 7.10 p.m.
§ The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr. Eden)No doubt the Committee would like a brief explanation of the purposes for' which this money is being asked. At the outbreak of war the character and volume of the work of the Dominions Office underwent a very considerable change. I will not explain all the particulars, but I will give one example. The number of telegrams sent from September to the end of the present year, compared with the same period of last year, was three times as great. This has resulted in a certain inevitable increase, though a small one, of the staff, including the higher staff, where owing to the greater responsibility of the work we have now a new post of Deputy Under-Secretary. These additions explain the sum of £150. The actual cost, of course, has been greater, but the savings have set off the rest of the expenditure, and the money for which we are asking is only £150.
The rest is devoted to travelling and incidental expenses which in normal times would be met out of savings. In the main, this expenditure is for the mission of Lord and Lady Willingdon to New Zealand for the centenary celebrations where, as the Committee know, they did most valuable service and received a very warm welcome from the New Zealand Government and people. That is the explanation of the figures, and in the circumstances I hope that the Committee will approve of the Vote.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
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Resolved:
That a supplementary sum, not exceeding £4,650, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1940, for the salaries and expenses of the Department of His Majesty's Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.