§ MR. ALFRED PEASE (Yorkshire, Cleveland)To ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the attention of His Majesty's Government has been drawn to the statements made in Mr. Keyser's Consular Report on Zaila, as to the effect on the trade of the British Somali Protectorate that must result from the completion of the French railway from Djibouti; whether he is aware that the trade of Zaila and of Aden has steadily declined of late, and that the export trade of Djibouti, which amounted to 693,013 francs in 1900, rose to 2,679,300 francs in 1901; and whether 1104 His Majesty's Government would consider favourably the question of guaranteeing interest on a railway or tramway line from Berbera to the Abyssinian frontier or the neighbourhood of Harrar.
(Answer.) We are aware of the state of things to which attention is called by the hon. Member. The subject has for some time past been receiving the careful attention of His Majesty's Government.—(Foreign Office.)