§ MR. BUCHANAN (Edinburgh, W.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the grant in aid of £5,000 for Swaziland, he will state the amount of revenue collected for the period for which the aid of £5,000 is asked; from what sources is the revenue obtained; whether it is derived from the taxes, &c. on white persons imposed by Section 6 of the Proclamation of 18th December, 1889, or whether it includes taxation from other sources; whether he is aware that Article 9 of the Convention provides that such deficiency has to be certified according to rules as to accounting and audit to be approved by the High Commissioner and the President of the Transvaal; whether these rules have been made and approved, and whether the deficiency has been certified accordingly; and whether the Transvaal Government is contributing a like sum of £5,000?
§ BARON H DE WORMSThe amount of revenue expected to be collected by the Joint Government during the period in question is estimated at £1,347. This revenue is derived from the sources indicated in the third part of the hon. Member's question, and does not include taxation from other sources. As regards the 4th paragraph, I am, of course, aware of the provisions of the Swaziland Convention; but the rules of Account and Audit have not yet been received from South Africa; nor could the amount of the deficit be certified under them until the year is closed on the 31st instant. The sum of £5,000 is an estimate, and no more of it will be applied to the deficiency of the current year than is requisite to make good a moiety of the certified deficit. The South African Republic has undertaken to supply a moiety of the deficit equal to that supplied by Her Majesty's Government.