§ MR. BUCHANANTo ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the purchase of the South African Railways under the Loan Act has been completed; and, if not, what railways remain still unpurchased, and what is their estimated cost.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton.) Particulars of the services to be charged to Head II. of the Schedule to the Loan Act will be found on page 36 of Cd. 1552. Repayment to His Majesty's Government for rolling stock has been made, and the debt of the South African Railways to the Military Authorities has been settled. Payments in respect of the Orange River Colony Railway and Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway have been completed, with the possible exception of a sum of about £170,000 in the latter case, which is the subject of litigation in the Transvaal. The sum of £9,325,070 has been expended in the purchase of shares and debentures of the Netherlands South African Railway Company. A final estimate of expenditure is not yet possible, but I do not anticipate that the original estimate will be exceeded.