§ MR. WHITLEY (Halifax)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that at the first meeting, in Heidelberg, of creditors in the insolvent estate of Mr. Van Rensburg, who recently resigned his seat as a nominated member of the Inter-Colonial Council, debts to the amount of £51,000 were proved, and included in the list was a sum of £20,000 due to the Colonial Treasurer of the Transvaal; and can he say for what purpose this loan was made.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. LYTTELTON,) Warwick and LeamingtonI have not yet received the information, but hope to do so shortly.
§ MR. WHITLEYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that I first put the Question on the Paper three weeks ago?
§ MR. LYTTELTONWe could not have obtained the information within that period unless we had cabled for it.
§ MR. WHITLEYDoes not the right hon. Gentleman regard a debt of £20,000 due to the Colonial Treasurer of the Transvaal as a matter of importance?
§ MR. LYTTELTONI regard it as a matter of importance, but not as a matter of urgency.
§ MR. WHITLEYWill the light hon. Gentleman now undertake to cable for the information?
§ MR. LYTTELTONNo; I should not be justified in cabling for it.
§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN (Stirling Burghs)The right hon. Gentleman led my hon. friend to believe that an answer might be expected in a short time.
§ Mr. LYTTELTONNo.
§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANBut my hon. friend postponed the Question for a week in the belief that the information would be obtained within that period.
§ MR. LYTTELTONI gave no encouragement to the hon. Member to put the Question down within a week. He used his own discretion.
§ MR. WHITLEYThe right hon. Gentleman certainly gave me reason to believe that he would cable for the information. I will put the Question down again this day week.