§ SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL (Kirkcaldy, &c.)asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, By whom, and on what terms, land is given away in Bechuanaland; whether there are any Rules on the subject; whether the best land is reserved to offer in homesteads to bona-fide settlers, or whether speculators are allowed to take it up; and whether any large grants have been given to Companies or others who advertise in the London market, especially to one advertised as the "Methuen Settlement," and on what terms; whether there is any provision requiring the sanction of any British authority to grants to Europeans of land in the territories now taken under Her Majesty's Protectorate; or whether, while a Protectorate is established, speculators are allowed to get any grants they can from Native Chiefs, by any means they can; and, whether, in the event of land being granted on condition of making a Bechuana Railway, there will at least be reserved alternate sections, after the American plan?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Baron HENRY DE WORMS) (Liverpool, East Toxteth)In answer to hon. Member's first and second Questions, I have to say that land is not given away in Bechuanaland but, under an approved system, is sold at a quit-rent and a moderate upset price, the rights of the Crown to minerals, &c., being reserved. In answer to Question 3, the sales of land have been, as far as is known, made to bona-fide purchasers; and the Government use every precaution to prevent large tracts of land falling into the hands of speculators. The Methuen Settlement scheme has fallen to the ground, and no other similar scheme is, as far as I know, in existence. In answer to the fourth paragraph, the policy of Her Majesty's Government is, in every way, to discourage European land settlement at present in the Protectorate. A railway made in British Bechuanaland would pass mainly through private lands. There is no intention of alienating extensive areas of land to any private Corporation.