§ MR. RUNCIMANI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any portion of the aid grant to the West Indian Islands in 1901 or 1902 has been devoted to encouraging the cultivation of cotton as an alternative to the production of sugar.
§ MR J. CHAMBERLAINThe only grant in aid available for the purpose is the grant in aid of Botanic Stations and Agricultural Instruction and Experiments. The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West Indies, whose Department is paid for out of this grant, has recently devoted much attention to the encouragement of the cultivation of cotton, but I am not aware that any definite sum has been appropriated to this purpose.