HC Deb 13 April 1899 vol 69 cc987-8
SIR E. ASHMEAD-BARTLETT

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the telegraph account of the petition, in "The Times" of 27th March, addressed to the Queen by the Transvaal Uitlanders, accurately represents the contents of the petition; what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take in consequence; and whether he can give the House any information as to the long promised reforms in the Transvaal? I beg also to ask the right honourable Gentleman a Question, of which I have given private notice, i.e., whether it is the fact that the Boer Government have just prohibited an outdoor meeting of Uitlanders at Johannesburg, called to consider the question of reform?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES

The honourable Member asks me a Question about a telegram appearing this morning in the newspapers. I have no official information on the subject. With regard to the Question on the Paper, I have not yet received the petition, and am, therefore, unable to say whether the telegraphic report in "The Times" accurately represent its contents. I am not in a position to give any information beyond what has appeared in the Press.