§ SIR MANCHERJEE BHOWNAGGREE (Bothnal Green, N.E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India what is the aggregate number, according to the last official return, of men as well as of the cattle lost through the effects of the present famine in India.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Lord G. HAMILTON,) Middlesex, EalingI have received no official return 29 of the number of human lives or of cattle lost through the effects of the present famine in India; nor would it be desirable, under existing circumstances, to call upon the Government of India for such statistics. When the famine is over it may probably be possible to form an estimate of the various forms of loss, but it cannot be more than an estimate.