§ Mr. REESasked whether a sum of approximately £7,000,000 had been spent by Great Britain in East Africa; whether the annual outturn of that Protectorate was valued at about £6,000,000; whether of this raw material valued at £58,356 was imported in 1907 to the United Kingdom, and raw material valued at £315,147 to foreign countries; whether corresponding figures for 1908 were now available; and, if a somewhat similar ratio obtained, what steps would be taken to obtain for Great Britain some return upon the capital expended?
In asking the question the hon. Member said: The sum £6,000,000 should be £600,000.
§ Colonel SEELYI concur in my hon. Friend's figures, except that I do not know what meaning he attaches to the expression "annual outturn" of the Protectorate nor how he arrives at a sum of £6,000,000 for the amount of the annual outturn. He has, however, now corrected that figure. The exports from the East Africa Protectorate for the year ended 31st March, 1908, were valued at £105,182 to the United Kingdom, £79,960 to British Colonies, and £329,910 to foreign countries—£515,052 in all, while the imports were valued at £1,251,027, including Government imports, specie and goods in transit, or £799,717, exclusive of these items. The corresponding figures given by my hon. Friend relate to the year ended the 31st of March, 1907. As regards the last part of my hon. Friend's question, we cannot hope to reap the full reward of our expenditure in East Africa for many years to come, but it will be seen that the trade of the Protectorate with the United Kingdom and British possessions is already considerable, and is rapidly increasing.