§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will state under what authority, and on whose responsibility, the district of Vryheid, which formed part of the territories of the South African Republic, has been added to the Colony of Natal and placed within the purview of the government and constitution of Natal; and whether, having regard to the fact that the constitution of the Colony of Natal owes its origin to the Imperial Parliament, any addition to the territories 847 endorsed by that constitution can be made without the sanction of the Imperial Parliament.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINThe authority was that of Letters Patent under the Great Seal dated the 29th November, 1902, passed in accordance with the provisions of the Colonial Boundaries Act 1895. Having regard to the provisions of that Act the consent of Parliament was not required.