§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)To ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign 843 Affairs whether he is now in a position to state when the Chiromo and Blantyre Railway will be commenced, what length of line is it proposed to construct, when is it expected to be finished, and what will be the cost per mile.
(Answered by Lord Cranborne.) According to a contract concluded on 31st December last between His Majesty's Government and the Shiré Highlands Railway Nyassaland Company, Limited, the line between Chiromo and Blantyre is to be commenced with reasonable dispatch and completed within five years from the above date. It is understood that materials for construction have already reached the Protectorate. The length of line between Chiromo and Blantyre is about eighty miles. I am unable to say what the cost per mile may be.