§ BARON H. DE WORMS (Liverpool, East Toxteth)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the report from Cape Town was correct, which appeared that morning in the papers, to the effect that—
The message of the Imperial Government, communicated to the Queen Regent of Swaziland on the 20th instant by Colonel Martin, the British Commissioner, announces to the Swazis that the projected meeting between Sir Henry Loch and President Kruger will probably decide the future of Swaziland.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. S. BUXTON,) Tower Hamlets, Poplar442 It is not a fact that the Imperial Government have communicated any message to the Queen Regent of Swaziland. As I informed the right hon. Gentleman on Thursday, Colonel Martin was to have an interview with the Queen Regent on his return from leave. Sir H. Loch took the opportunity of informing the Queen Regent, through Colonel Martin, of the intended meeting between himself and the President of the South African Republic, of which the right hon. Gentleman is aware. The communication in question was a personal one from Sir H. Loch to the Queen Regent, and was not in pursuance of any instructions from Her Majesty's Government.