§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThe right hon. Gentleman referred yesterday to a mysterious Treasury Bill which must be passed this session. I think the House would like to know the nature of the Bill, and if it is likely to give rise to discussion.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINsaid that on Tuesday he proposed to submit a Resolution on which to found a Bill to enable the Government to make provision for raising money for capital expenditure on works which had been passed in recent sessions, and to meet their obligations under the Cunard Agreement, which was sanctioned last session. In moving the Resolution he would explain the exact method by which the money was to be raised. Hitherto it had been done by means of terminable annuities which were taken up on behalf of the Savings Bank, but he was sorry to say that the money available to be invested by the Savings Bank was not sufficient to meet the need. He would therefore have to ask the House to make provision for borrowing in another form.
MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)inquired if one Resolution would suffice both for the £10,000,000 required for capital expenditure on works and for the Cunard Agreement.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINreplied that this was not new loan expenditure, as it had already been approved by Parliament. The circumstances of the time having prevented his raising the money in the way it had hitherto been done, he had to ask the House for power to raise it in a different form, but not, so far as the Loan Acts were concerned, for authority to borrow more than the 1485 House had already sanctioned. If two separate Committees were required he should propose to proceed with the one immediately after the conclusion of the other.