§ MR. WARNER (Lichfield, Staffordshire)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether General Sir William Butler objected to the detachment from the defensive forces for Cape Colony of troops for the occupation of Kimberley, on the urgent request of Sir Alfred Milner that Kimberley should be held; And whether this objection by Sir William Butler was the cause of the friction between him and Sir Alfred Milner.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThere is no foundation for the suggestion in either paragraph of the hon. Gentleman's question.
§ MR. WARNERIs it untrue, or does not the Government know?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI have asked of the Colonial Office and of the War Office, and neither of them have in their reports the slightest statement which would warrant the hon. Gentleman in putting that question.