§ MR. SMEATON (Stirlingshire)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India what precisely are the general purposes of the Government of India for which the Secretary of State is to be empowered by the East Indian Loan Bill to borrow in the United Kingdom the sum of £5,000,000, in addition to the sum of £6,200,000 already borrowed and apparently spent; upon what specific object this sum of £6,200,000 has been spent, and whether the details of this expenditure have been regularly brought to account in the annual financial statement issued by the Government of India.
§ MR. BUCHANANThe power to raise £5,000,000 for general purposes is asked for in order that the Secretary of State may be able to borrow in England to meet any emergency that may arise, such as a deficiency in remittances from India due to a reduction of the resources 67 of the Government of India, or to unfavourable trade conditions. The Secretary of State comes to Parliament from time to time for borrowing powers for these purposes. The net indebtedness incurred under the Act of 1898, which was shown in the Memorandum presented last July as £6,200,000 is now £8,700,000. The total transactions under the Act are that £17,700,000 have been borrowed at various times and £9,000,000 of temporary debt have been repaid. The loans of each year and the total expenditure of each year are shown in the annual accounts of the Government of India; but so far as the loans are required to meet a shortage of remittances from India it is not practicable to exhibit them in the accounts as appropriated to meet expenditure under particular heads.
§ MR. SMEATONWill the hon. Gentleman answer the last part of my Question? Are details of this expenditure exhibited in the account?
§ MR. BUCHANANYes, I shall later on be able to explain more fully the exact position.