§ SIR GILBERT PARKER (Gravesend)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Government is doing anything to assist the poverty-stricken people of St. Helena to provide a market for the 1,200 head of cattle on the island; and is he aware that farmers found it necessary to kill calves at birth in order to avoid unprofitable outlay on their rearing.
§ MR. CHURCHILLThe Secretary of State has seen the statement to which the hon. Member refers. He understands that supplies of fresh meat for His Majesty's ships on the South African Station are already partly made under contract at St. Helena, and that the Admiralty are considering whether it would be possible or economical to ship cattle from the island to South Africa. The War Department has also been approached in the matter, but it appears that the purchase of these cattle for the use of the troops in South Africa would be an infringement of the conditions of existing contracts. It may be added that His Majesty's Government have made grants for industries which it is hoped will benefit the whole community, including the farmers.