§ 28. Mr. SWIFT MacNEILLasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether there was any other and, if so, what consideration for which Liebig's Extract of Meat Company acquired from the British South Africa Company the right to select 1,200,000 acres of ranching land in Southern Rhodesia at a quit rent tenure at a price of 1s. an acre; was the price paid for this vast area of ranching land credited to the shareholders or to the administration in the accounts which should be presented to the Colonial Office under Section 17 of the Royal Charter; whether he is aware that the purchasers are Germans engaged in the meat trade who give the natives any price for their cattle they think fit, and prohibit them from driving the cattle to the neighbouring markets; whether any steps will be taken to protect the rights of the natives to trade their cattle freely with any other purchaser than the Liebig's Extract of Meat Company; how many natives were living on this area before this purchase, and, what steps, if any, have been taken to enforce the obligation of the British South Africa Company, under Order in Council of 1898, to protect the occupation rights of the natives who have now been reduced to a condition bordering on slavery; and, if the money obtained from the sale of these ranching lands has been taken by the shareholders of the Chartered Company, will any moans be taken to secure that the proceeds of the sale should 1226 be for the benefit of the community at large?
§ Mr. GULLANDI am informed by the British South Africa Company as follows: 1. In addition to the purchase price of 1s. per acre, the right to select the land was granted to the Liebig Company in consideration of its undertaking to spend a considerable amount of capital in developing the land and stocking it with cattle. 2. The purchase money was credited to the British South Africa Company's commercial account. 3. The Liebig Company is a British company, incorporated in London in the year 1865. Natives are under m obligation to sell any cattle to the Liebig Company, and all cattle bought from natives by the company have been paid for at currenst market rates. Native owners are perfectly free to sell to other purchasers, and it is therefore unnecessary to take special steps to protect the rights of natives in this matter. 4. There is no precise information available as to the number of natives living on this area before purchase. They are, however, believed to have been few in number, and many of them are able to obtain remunerative employment at current rates of wages from the Liebig Company. It appears from this information that further details with regard to the position of the natives are required, and I have asked the High Commissioner for a report. I may, however, at once say that I am confident that whatever the exact facts may be with regard to the natives there is no reason to apprehend that they are in a condition bordering on slavery. With regard to the company's right to the land I cannot usefully add anything to my reply to a question on the subject on 8th April.