§ MR. O'KELLY (Roscommon, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any British colonies pay bounties on the export of agricultural 1173 produce; and, if so, what are the names of the colonies and what are the products on which bounties are paid; and whether Her Majesty's Government will invite a conference with the representatives of the bounty-paying colonies, with a view to putting an end to tins unfair competition with British and Irish agriculture?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIESI must refer the honourable Member to the Parliamentary Paper of 1896, C.7960, which gives full information up to that date. There appears to have been little subsequent legislation in the colonies affecting the subject. The matter is essentially one for the consideration of the colonial legislatures, and Her Majesty's Government see no sufficient reason to propose a conference on the subject.