§ MR. LABOUCHERE (Northampton)To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will inform the House what is the total share capital of the Chartered Company of South Africa; at what price these shares have been respectively issued to the public; what is the amount, if any, of the debentures issued by the company; what is the amount of shares held by the company in other companies or undertakings; what is the monetary amount of interest held by the company in other companies, based upon the value of the shares of such companies at par; and what is the annual amount of the interest guaranteed by the company in respect of other companies or other undertakings.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton.) Much of the information desired by the hon. Member may be derived from sources which are open to the public, such as the published annual accounts of the company and "Burdett's Official Intelligence." For the rest the Secretary of State would be obliged to ask the British South Africa Company for a Return and for permission to publish it, and it would probably save correspondence if the hon. Member would apply to the company direct.