§ Mr. JESSONasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the stabilisation of the rupee at 2s. in the Kenya Colony and Uganda was effected in the interests of the producers; whether he is aware that the course of the sterling exchange with India has been such that producers in Kenya Colony and Uganda are far worse off than if no stabilization had been effected; whether the action of the Government in stabilising the rupee ta 2s. was based upon the assumption that the exchange value of the rupee could not, except for temporary fluctuation, fall below 2s. sterling and in all probability would remain above that figure for a considerable period; that by 16th June last the sterling rate of exchange had fallen to 1s. 9½d., and since that date has never again reached 2s. and has been as low as 1s. 6½d.; and, in view of this miscalculation, what steps the Government propose to take to remove the hardships that have thus been imposed upon producers?
§ Lieut.-Colonel AMERYThe rupee (for which the florin is being substituted) was stabilised at one-tenth of a pound sterling in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika at the time when the value of the rupee in India was raised to one-tenth of a gold sovereign, equivalent at that moment to over 2s. 10d. sterling. The change was made in order to secure for all sections of the community the advantage of a stable sterling exchange, the actual figure fixed being the lowest that could then have been fixed in the interest of the white settlers without injury to other sections of the community and without a complete dislocation of currency and banking. There seems to be no reason to suppose that the exchange value of the Indian rupee will remain permanently below 2s. sterling, and I am not prepared to sacrifice the advantage to East Africa of a stable exchange and a definite association with sterling because of a temporary depression in the Indian exchange.