13. Mr. MacCALLUM SCOTTasked whether it is proposed to raise a loan for the Federated Malay States in London; if so, what is the amount of the loan and to what purposes is it to he devoted; and whether the necessity for raising such loan is in whole or in part due to the earmarking of other funds of the States to pay for the cost of the "Dreadnought" which is to be presented to the British Navy?
Mr. HARCOURTThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; the amount proposed is £6,000,000, and is to be applied to the construction of railways and other public works and for the purchase of lands and materials in connection therewith. The heavy programme of development which has been and is being undertaken in the Malay Peninsula renders the issue of a loan unavoidable in any case, though it is obvious that the sums set aside for the construction of the "Malaya" have pro tanto increased the commitments of the Federation.