§ Mr. JOHNSTONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether it has been decided to dispense with the services of Colonel Bell, in Kenya Colony; whether he is aware that this decision to dispense with his services was conveyed to Colonel Bell in the same envelope as a reprimand for the evidence which this official gave before the Masai Inquiry Committee; and that the evidence for which he was censured was to the effect that moneys from the native trust fund had been diverted to other purposes; whether any steps will be taken to draw the attention of the local administration to the danger of censuring officials for giving evidence before a committee of inquiry; and whether it is proposed that steps shall be taken to restore Colonel Bell to an administrative position and to restore to the native trust fund any sums which may be proved to have been alienated for other purposes?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREApart from what has been published in the Press, I have no information an any of the points mentioned in the question. I will consult the Acting Governor, but for the present I am not in a position to express any opinion on the subject. Colonel Bell is of an age for superannuation, and the published reports state that the Government made it clear that the decision that he should retire was taken independently of the incident in question. So far as that incident is concerned, therefore, the question of reinstatement does not appear to arise.