§ 66. Mr. ANEURIN WILLIAMSasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the British South Africa Company, in addition to its claim for £8,000,000 sterling from His Majesty's 381 Government, is also claiming interest on that sum from about the year 1894; whether a further claim has been lodged for War charges, amounting to approximately another £2,000,000 sterling; and whether the latter sum will be subject to scrutiny by Lord Cave's Commission?
§ Lieut.-Colonel AMERYAs regards the first part of the question, I understand that the proposal submitted on behalf of the Company to the Commission in Rhodesia was that interest should be charged on each yearly deficit from the middle of the year in which the deficit occurred. As regards the second and third parts of the question, the position is that sums amounting to £1,915,000 were advanced by His Majesty's Government to the Company in the course of the late War in respect of the Company's expenditure in connection with the military operations in Rhodesia. This expenditure was incurred mainly in Northern Rhodesia, which is under a separate administration from Southern Rhodesia. It had, of course, no connection with the subject-matter of the inquiry conducted by Lord Cave's Commission, namely, the administrative deficits in Southern Rhodesia. The adjustment of the liability in respect of this expenditure between the Imperial Authorities and the Company is still under consideration, but I would refer my hon. Friend in this connection to the statement I made on the 9th of March last on the Supplementary Estimates.