§ MR. DILLON (Mayo, E.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in the balance sheet of the Royal Niger Company, the sum of £493,680, debited in respect of paid-up capital, represents cash paid up; and whether there is any water in this amount, and, if so, how much.
§ * MR. BRODRICKI am informed that the entire sum of £493,680 represents cash paid up. There is no water what-ever in this amount.
§ MR. LABOUCHERE (Northampton)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a portion of the debenture debt of the Royal Niger Company, which it is proposed to pay off with a premium of 20 per cent. out of Imperial 876 funds, was issued as a bonus, without any payment, to the shareholders of that company; if so, what was the amount of the debt thus created; and whether he will lay upon the Table of the House a list of the original allottees of the debenture bonds, distinguishing between those who paid cash for these bonds and those who paid no cash for them, together with the amount in the first case paid per bond.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M. HICKS-BEACH,) Bristol, W.The debt referred to in the question is not chargeable on the assets of the Royal Niger Company, but on the customs and other Governmental revenues of the territories administered by the company. It represents the amount, as ascertained by the Government of that day, advanced by the National African Company, prior to the grant of the charter, to secure the political rights acquired up to the date of the charter. Lord Granville stipulated before issuing the charter that the amount to be so repaid should not exceed a permanent annual charge on the revenues of the territory of £12,500, and Lord Salisbury afterwards agreed that this should be represented by the issue of five per cent. stock, repayable at par in 1938, for £250,000. The Crown agents for the Colonies were entrusted at the time with the duty of verifying the amount expended by the National African Company, and, as directed, they stopped when £250,000 had been passed, though the company claimed that a large balance of expenditure remained unrecognised. It appears, therefore, that the whole amount of the £250,000 was issued against cash advanced.
§ MR. LABOUCHEREThe right hon. Gentleman has not answered my question as to a bonus being issued to the shareholders of the company.
§ SIR M. HICKS-BEACHI am afraid I have not made myself intelligible. The £250,000 represents money which had been expended by the company previous to the grant of the charter. It was issued to recompense them for the expense they had been put to. It was simply a repayment of money due to the shareholders.
§ MR. LABOUCHEREDo I understand that anyone received the 30 per cent. in cash?
§ SIR M. HICKS-BEACHCertainly.