§ SIR BRAMPTON GURDON (Norfolk, N.)To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether an agreement has been made with the National Bank of South Africa whereby the Transvaal Government account will be kept at that bank until 1909; whether any tenders had previously been asked for from other local banks; whether the National Bank of South Africa is registered under the English Companies Act; and whether the shares are fully paid up, so that creditors have no reserve fund on which to rely in times of financial difficulty.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) The Answer is in the affirmative. The bank, as part of the agreement, abandoned any claims which it might have against the Transvaal Government under the old concession with regard to such matters as 260 the issue of notes or coinage of money. Tenders were not called for. The bank is incorporated under the Transvaal Ordinance 16, of 1902, under which the shares were to be deemed to be fully paid up.