§ MR. DODD (Essex, Maldon)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have received during the present year any Reports or official information with regard to the management by the Royal Niger Company of the African territory under the control of that Company; and, if so, what the effect of it is; and what is the estimated population and size of the territory within the Company's control or jurisdiction, and what official in Her Majesty's Service has now any duty of keeping Her Majesty's Government informed as to the condition of that territory or the management of it by the Company, and to whom British subjects not belonging to the Company, who trade or desire to trade with that territory, may look for advice or assistance?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir E. GREY,) Northumberland, BerwickThe Annual Reports of the Council of Directors of the Company are furnished to Her Majesty's Government. Their effect is generally satisfactory. There is no official in Her Majesty's Service resident in the territory under the control of the Royal Niger Company. The officials of the Company are responsible for the local execution of the provisions of the Charter, and it is to them that British subjects should look for advice or assistance. The regions administered by the Company have been estimated to cover about 500,000 square miles, with a population of from 20,000,000 to 25,000,000.