§ MR. SUMMERS (Huddersfield)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India what is the amount of Council Bills sold since the commencement of the present financial year; what proportion is this amount of the whole of the current year's estimate; under whose advice has Her Majesty's Secretary of State forced on the market so much larger a proportion of the year's drawings than is needed for the current requirements of the India Office: and what is the present amount of the cash balances in the Home Treasury of the India Office?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Sir J. GORST.) ChathamThe amount of Council Bills and Transfers sold since the commencement of the present financial year is Rs. 5,32,34,000; being 24¼ per cent. of the estimate for the year. The sales have been made under the advice of the Finance Committee of the Council of India. It is incorrect to say the large amount sold has been "forced on the market"; the demand has been abnormally large. The present cash balance of the I Home Treasury is £6,000,000.