§ MR. LYELL (Dorsetshire, E.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether His Majesty's Government have taken into consideration the repeated recommendations of the High Commissioner for Northern Nigeria, that a railway should be constructed without delay from a port on the Niger to Zaria and Kano; whether they have considered the Report forwarded by the Crown agents, in which the confident expectation is held out that such a railway would be financially self-supporting; and whether His Majesty's Government propose to take any action in the matter.
§ * THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. CHURCHILL,) Manchester, N.W.The Secretary of State is fully alive to the importance of developing the means of transport in Northern Nigeria, but many important questions have to be considered before a decision can be arrived at, and he is not in a position to say whether any action will be taken in regard to the particular schemes referred to by the hon. Member.