MR. J. HERBERT ROBERTS (Denbighshire, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the correspondence which has recently passed between the Government of India and the Bombay Government with reference to the expenditure incurred in combating the plague; and whether, looking to the importance to the whole of India of localising the plague, he will direct the Government of India to pay a substantial portion of the sums which in the meantime have been disbursed on this account by the municipalities?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIAI am aware that there has been correspondence between the Bombay Municipality, the Bombay Government, and the Government of India regarding the allocation of plague expenditure in Bombay city. I await a Report on the subject from the Government of India before coming to a decision as to the apportionment of the expenditure, but I am able to say that the Supreme Government fully recognise the national importance of the plague campaign conducted in Western India.