§ MR. SLACK (Hertfordshire, St. Alban)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what was the actual amount realised and received as the total result of the sales of the surplus animals and articles which Lord Kitchener in his cablegram of 18th 75 June, 1902, estimated would probably reach some £6,000,000 or £7,000,000, referred to in paragraph 7, on page 5, of the Report of the Committee on Sales and Refunds to Contractors in South Africa. [Cd. 2435]
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERWill the hon. Member kindly refer to my reply to a similar Question put by the hon. Member for the Saffron Walden Division of Essex on Thursday† last.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERwas understood to reply that the same stores were referred to.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERsaid he was following the ordinary practice in referring back to previous Answers. He did not know whether he need repeat the Answer to a previous Question. He would do so, however. It was as follows:—The War Office is not in possession of any detail of the stores on which the estimate made by Lord Kitchener—admittedly a rough one—was based. A total sum of approximately £8,000,000 was realised by the sale of various stock in South Africa from April, 1902, to September, 1904; but the moneys arising from the sale of ordinary supplies to soldiers, captured stock, etc., are included in this total and cannot be separated. As regards the other points raised in the Question, the information desired by the hon. Member would require considerable labour to obtain in consequence of the difficulty of differentiating between the stores actually consumed and those of a similar description which arrived at a later date.
MR. GIBSON BOWLESHave the War Office the estimate made by Colonel Morgan and handed to Lord Kitchener, in which he puts the value of the stores at £8,000,000.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER;I must ask for notice of that
† See Debates, exlvii., p. 1334