§ MR. MACLEAN (Cardiff)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether, in the Indian Budget for 1897–8, the amount to be remitted to England in the year was estimated at £13,000,000; whether the Council drafts sold up to date have only realised a little over £6,000,000; and how it is proposed to make good the deficiency?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIAIt is the case that in the Indian Budget for 1897–8 the amount to be received from the sale of Council drafts was estimated at £13,000,000, and that up to the present date only about £6,460,000 has been received from this source. Moreover, a sum of £669,000 was expended in the purchase of drafts payable in India; so that the total deficiency under this head is something over £7,000,000. On the other hand, Indian Sterling Bills have been issued to the extent of four millions in excess of the amount estimated in the Budget; and, as regards the balance, it remains to be seen whether it cannot be made good by the sale of Council drafts before the end of March.