§ Sir E. STOCKTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if any private tenders were received to build the Sekondi-Kumassi Railway at a lower rate than that at which the line was constructed departmentally; and whether he can inform the House what action, if any, was taken in respect to such private offers?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORESuch examination as I have been able to make of the papers on this subject, now over a quarter of a century old, do not reveal that anything in the nature of a tender for the construction of the Sekondi-Kumassi line was received. Various tentative offers for the construction of railways in that part 51W of the Colony were made, and the reason for rejecting them appears to have been that they involved conditions which were inadmissible, such as extensive land grants, guarantees of interest, or mileage bonuses from the Government.