§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in view of the fact that the Colonial Office is unable to state the number and amount of claims for compensation which have been lodged by the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies, will he state how the Department arrives at the sum required for the satisfaction of these claims.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain.) The Government has never undertaken to satisfy claims for compensation for war losses in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony. As far as ex-burghers of the late Republics are concerned, the £3,000,000 which has been set apart for them was fixed by Article 10 of the Terms of Surrender. It will be distributed pro rata among those who have suffered war losses and are in actual want of relief. The £2,000,000 set apart for British subjects, neutral foreigners, and natives will be distributed pro rata among all who are held to be entitled to some compensation for war losses. It is a sum estimated by Lord Milner to be sufficient to provide each recipient with a larger measure of compensation than the ex-burghers will receive from the £3,000,000 above referred to.