§ Before I come to the Estimates for this year, I will state what I propose to do with that £5,607,000. As the Committee will probably have already conjectured, I propose to devote £1,500,000 to the building of sanatoria for consumptives in this country.
§ An application has been made to the Treasury by the Colonial Office for an advance in respect of developments in Uganda. The Committee will recollect the financial responsibilities which we undertook in connection with the construction of the Uganda Railway. That railway was constructed very largely for diplomatic reasons, but there is every prospect that it will be a commercial success. It runs through a wild country, but a country of extreme fertility. In fact there is no limit to the possibilities of that great tract of country which is now under our flag. But the Colonial Office is anxious that a little more money should be spent on development there, and not merely for that purpose, but for utilising the expenditure already incurred. They propose that a small light railway about thirty miles in length should be constructed as a feeder between Nairobi and the Thika River. As everybody who has watched the development of a country like this knows, a railway is never a real success until the feeders are constructed and working. This is a small railway of that kind, and will help to feed the main line. 1852 The other object for which the Colonial Office want to borrow money is in connection with Kilindini, which, I am told, is one of the finest natural harbours in the world. At the present moment, owing to the fact that there are very crude facilities in that very fine natural harbour, it costs large sums of money to load and unload. It is proposed to construct a deep water jetty for the purpose of facilitating transport there.
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§ The third object of the loan will be for a healthy water supply for Mombasa. The population suffers a great deal at present owing to the fact that the water supply is bad. The matter is obviously of the first importance. If we are really going to develop a country of that kind, and enable people to go out as pioneers, we must, if possible, arrange for conditions which are not detrimental to their health. The Colonial Office has applied for a loan of £250,000. There is every prospect of it being re-paid, because there is now a balance on the working of the railways. They propose to pay 3½ per cent. interest, with 1 per cent. towards the Sinking fund. Therefore I will propose to the House that £250,000 should be taken out of the surplus by way of loan for this purpose in that country. As the country knows, we are not confining our operations to development in Uganda.