§ MR. GULLANDTo ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the rates for the carriage of spirits to Abeokuta and Ibadan by rail from Lagos; and how these compare with the rates for kerosene, methylated spirits, and other such commodities.
(Answered by Colonel Seely.) The rate for the carriage of trade spirits is 16s. a ton to Abeokuta, up to which place the railway is in competition with canoe transport on the river, and 52s. a ton to Ibadan; the rates for kerosene and methylated spirits are 51s. 2d. a ton. to Abeokuta and 102s. 4d. a ton to Ibadan. There is also a terminal charge of 2s. 6d. a ton, which corresponds to a wharfage due at Iddo, the terminus of the line, in the case of all three commodities. The Governor has, however, under consideration a proposal to reduce the rates in Class 3, in which kerosene and methylated spirits are at present included.