CAPTAIN VIVIANsaid, he would beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether the Estimate of the probable Expenditure on account of the Abyssinian Expedition, which was presented to the House in November last, is likely to be exceeded; and, if so, whether he is prepared to say to what extent, and what are 1684 the circumstances which account for the same?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERSir, I think it has been usual for this House to be content till the Budget has been brought forward in order to learn whether the Estimates have been exceeded or not; and I think it highly inconvenient for piecemeal financial statements to be elicited from the Chancellor of the Exchequer by questions addressed to him in this House. But, under the circumstances of the case, I do not propose to decline to answer the Question of the hon. and gallant Member. The public mind has been made uneasy by exaggerated statements as to the expenditure going on in Abyssinia, but I trust that in answering the Question I shall not be considered as affording a precedent for the repetition of this practice. My right hon. Friend the First Minister of the Crown stated in November last that it was estimated that if the expedition lasted, as was anticipated, to the end of April, the expenditure would amount to £3,500,000, and in certain eventualities it might extend to £4,000,000. From the best means of information at my disposal, I am able to state that I believe, up to the time I am speaking, the expenditure in Abyssinia will be covered by the lower of these two amounts.
CAPTAIN VIVIANsaid, he would beg to ask, If the right hon. Gentleman will lay the Estimates on the table?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERI must decline to do so.
§ MR. CHILDERSsaid, he wished to know, if he had correctly understood the right hon. Gentleman. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that the First Lord of the Treasury had said in November that, if the expedition lasted till the end of April, the expense would be so much, but he went on to say that the Estimate had not been exceeded. Did he mean to say that in the middle of the month of March the Estimate for the expedition till the end of April had not been exceeded?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERWhat I stated was, that my right hon. Friend had informed the House in November last that, if the Expedition lasted till the end of April, the expense would amount to £3,500,000, and might extend to £4,000,000; but that I believed that the whole expenditure up to the present time would be covered by the lower of the two amounts—namely, £3,500,000.