83. Dr. MURRAYasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the export duty on palm oil from Sierra Leone, which now amounts to nearly 30 per cent. of the value of the oil, will, in order to compete on fair terms with Belgian and French exports which carry no such burden, be removed?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Churchill)The duty on palm oil exported from Sierra Leone was recently reduced to £1 0s. 10d. per ton, which is a little more than 4 per cent. of the price at Freetown at the end 1721 of May. In the present financial condition of the colony I am unwilling to sanction the abandonment of any tax which yields an appreciable revenue.