§ MR. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN (Kent, Faversham)asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the Government are aware that a Dutch bid has been made, equal in value to over £40 per £10 share, for the control of the Delagoa Bay Railway, and that nothing but immediate action can save the railway, and with it the key to British trade and commerce in the Transvaal and East Central Africa, from falling into the power of a foreign country?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)(who replied) said: Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any offer for the purchase of the Delagoa Bay Railway, or of any of the shares in that undertaking; and as to the question of Her Majesty's Government concerning themselves in it, I must refer the hon. Member to my statement on the 5th of March, that it has not been entertained by Her Majesty's Government, because the railway in question does not tra- 1280 verse, and is not intended to enter, British territory.