§ MR. WHITLEYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if his attention has been called to the fact that, according to the Treasury accounts of the Transvaal Government for the year ending 30th June, 1904, the expenses of the establishments of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor amounted to a sum of £63,860, in addition to £30,000 set aside for buying a house for the Governor and £40,000 for the building of a house for the Lieutenant-Governor, and that these expenses included such items as £1,535 8s. 8d. for a dance given at the Wanderers Hall, Johannesburg; and whether, having regard to the fact that the establishment of the late President Kruger only involved an annual cost of £7,700, he will call for greater economy in the Transvaal administration until the obligation of the £30,000,000 war contribution has been discharged.
§ MR. LYTTELTONI must remind the hon. Member that His Majesty's Government has elected to treat the new colonies as self-governing colonies in all matters in which Imperial interests are not directly concerned. The items of expenditure referred to clearly fall within the scope of this principle, and the Appropriation Ordinances which provide for them have been duly passed by the local Legislature. I may add that I am unable to follow all the hon. Mem 250 ber's figures, and the comparison which he makes requires considerable qualification, because the expenses of the Governor's establishment (part of which is borne by Orange River Colony funds) and of the Lieutenant-Governor's, cover some items like clerical assistance and cables which appear separately in the Estimates of the South African Republic. In the case of the Governor's house the sum set aside for its purchase would" remove a charge of £1,900 per annum for rent. I feel sure that Lord Selborne may be relied upon to practise all reasonable economy in these matters, and I may say that considerable retrenchments have been made by the Administration within the last year. It must be remembered in dealing with the expenditure referred to that the cost of land, building, and living, which enormously increased during and after the war, still remains very high.
§ MR. WHITLEYMy figures are from the official Return. Does the right hon. Gentleman consider that the decision of the Government to treat the colony as self-governing takes away from the power of his office to consider its finances until the £30,000,000 loan has been paid?
§ MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.)Is there any precedent in our colonial administration for treating a colony which is in fact a Crown colony as a self-governing colony, and for abrogating the right and duty of restraining expenditure?
§ MR. BUCHANANMay I also ask whether, under the new Constitution to be given to the Transvaal, the new Transvaal Legislature will have the power of reducing the Governor's salary or his establishment expenses?
§ MR. LYTTELTONNo; the Governor's salary is reserved under the new Constitution. I do not like to reply off-hand to the right hon. Gentleman's Question, which should be put down. The power referred to by the hon. Gentleman the Member for Halifax was not taken away, but that power must be exercised with the greatest discretion.
§ MR. WHITLEYThen my Question stands: Will the Government exercise that power as against this extravagance until the loan has been paid?
§ MR. LYTTELTONI have answered that.
§ MR. BRIGHT (Shropshire, Owestry)Is it really the fact that the establishments of the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal are now more expensive than Mr. Kruger's establishment?
§ MR. LYTTELTONNo doubt; but the establishments to which I have referred, as I have explained, include numerous items which were not included in the establishment of the late President Kruger.