HC Deb 07 February 1881 vol 258 cc259-60
SIR HENRY HOLLAND

asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether a Memorial of the 8th September 1880, has been received by the Colonial Office from residents in British Honduras; whether any reply has been returned to that Memorial; and, whether there is any objection to laying that Memorial and the reply, if any, upon the Table of the House?

MR. ANDERSON

also had the following Question on the Paper:—To ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, If a Memorial extensively signed has been received from British Honduras, making grave charges against the financial administration of that Colony, and complaining that, in spite of the wish of the Colonists for a liberal tariff— The Lieutenant Governor's policy threatens to drive commerce out of the country by an almost prohibitory tariff; and, if it is intended to send out a qualified Commissioner to investigate and report, or what other steps will be taken in the circumstances?

Mr. GRANT DUFF

Perhaps I may reply now both to this Question and to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow (Mr. Anderson), as the two are nearly identical. First, then, the Memorial has been received; secondly, I do not find in it the words quoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow; but the financial management of the Governor is blamed for other reasons. There is no intention of sending out a Commissioner; but the Secretary of State, while aware that expenditure is needed if only the money were forthcoming, is most anxious and determined to keep down expenditure in British Honduras. The Memorial will be answered almost immediately. When we have the Governor's final answer, and the Correspondence is complete, I apprehend there will be no difficulty whatsoever in laying it on the Table, if it is wished for; but I dare say my hon. Friends will mention the matter to me again.