§ MR. BRYN ROBERTS (Carnarvonshire,) EifionI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to a cablegram from Cape Town stating that there was a report that he was conferring with Mr. Rhodes, and that this has astounded the local community, affecting Dutch opinion deplorably; whether he is aware that the Municipal Council of Cape Town has recently, by a large majority, refused an address of welcome to Mr. Rhodes; and, whether, in order to allay the suspicions that appear to exist in South Africa, and to prevent all possible misconstruction, he will refrain from all interviews with Mr. Cecil Rhodes.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINI am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for giving me an opportunity to contradict this falsehood. My attention was drawn to the cablegram referred to, and I have authorised Sir Alfred Milner to state that I have had no communication with Mr. Rhodes on Transvaal affairs since 1896. I may take this opportunity to warn the House against believing without confirmation any of the numerous statements which at a time like the present are invented and circulated for obvious purposes. Perhaps, Sir, in connection with that, I may be allowed to say that I observed in the newspapers two or three days ago a statement that has been repeated in the evening newspapers to, night, with a breadth of detail, as to my having made arrangements to leave this country. The newspapers have been misinformed. There is not a word of truth in any one of the statements that have been made. I have not engaged carriages either in this country or in France, and I have no intention whatever of leaving this country at the present time.