§ 13. Mr. Dugdaleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state the date of the transfer of the Northern Rhodesian Land Bank to the Central African Federal Government.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodNo date has been fixed for the transfer of the Northern Rhodesia Land Bank to the Federal Government.
§ Mr. DugdaleFirst, has the decision actually been made? Secondly, does not the right hon. Gentleman think it ludicrous, when the Conference is sitting to decide whether there should be Federation at all, that it should be decided that something should be handed over to the Federal Government?
§ Mr. MacleodThe answer to the first part of the supplementary question is that negotiations were begun about two months ago, but have not been completed. On the second part, it is necessary in order to provide more capital—anyway, it would be extremely helpful in order to provide more capital—that this should be done at the present time. It has been made quite clear that this decision will follow that taken at the Federal Review on European agriculture because the bank deals almost entirely with that financial problem. If by any chance that responsibility, as some of the Monckton Commissioners thought it should, goes to Northern Rhodesia, a similar decision on the bank will follow.