§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)asked the under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the Government are aware that grants of 400 square miles have been granted by several of the Bechuana Chiefs in the Protectorate for mining purposes, with right of wood and water in the districts; whether these grants were given by the Chiefs with the consent of the Council; and, whether the Government mean to recognize these grants as valid, if the Protectorate were taken into the Colony of Bechuanaland?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Baron HENRY DE WORMS) (Liverpool, East Toxteth)Of the three principal Chiefs in the Protectorate, one—Gasitswe—in conjunction with his son and heir, has given such a concession. Another Chief—Khama—is supposed to have given a concession of 100 square miles; but the most recent information is that there has been some misunderstanding as to its tenure and extent. The third Chief—Sechele—does not appear to have made any such concession. Her Majesty's Government are not possessed of full information on the point raised in the second paragraph of the hon. Member's Question; and they cannot undertake to say what would be their action in the contingency contemplated by the last paragraph.