§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer when he anticipates that the Transvaal Government will issue the short-dated securities which are to be guaranteed by His Majesty's Government; and whether His Majesty's Government will withhold their guarantee until the sanction of Parliament has been obtained to their proposals.
§ MR. ASQUITHI cannot specify the precise date, but it will not be until after the necessary legislation has passed the Transvaal Parliament, and the issue of £1,000,000 may be by more than one instalment. No guarantee will be given by the Government until the proposal has been approved in principle by this House.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the purposes to which the Transvaal Government proposes to apply the £1,000,000 which they will raise by short-dated securities guaranteed by His Majesty's Government.
§ MR. ASQUITHA full statement of the purposes to which the loan of £5,000,000 is to be applied will be made when the proposal for the guarantee is before the House. The £1,000,000 to be raised by short-dated securities will be treated as an instalment of that loan applicable towards any of the services to which the proceeds of the loan are authorised to be devoted.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINCan the right hon. Gentleman give us no idea as to what the £1,000,000 will be appropriated to?
§ MR. ASQUITHI am not able to say now, but full information will be before the House when the Bill comes on.
§ MR. LYTTELTON (St. George's, Hanover Square)asked whether the objects for which the loan was granted were specified to his Majesty's Government before the assent was given to the guarantee, and, if so, what objection was there to stating them now.
§ MR. ASQUITHI think they have been stated by my right hon. friend the 358 Under-Secretary for the Colonies more than once, but we will give full particulars of them before we ask the House for its assent.