§ Mr. LAMBERTasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if the contract for the Zambesi Bridge has been placed; if so, its main terms; and whether any modification has been made in the concession whereby the bridge shall become the property of the Portuguese Government at the end of a term of years?
442Wthe Registrar-General of Deaths, in his Annual Report (text) for 1928, indicates an exceptional incidence of small-pox cases in mining areas, his medical officials can offer any explanation of this circumstance; and what was the average percentage of infants vaccinated in the respective counties in question during the five years ended 1928?
§ Mr. GREENWOODI am advised that the heavier incidence of small-pox in certain coal-mining counties in 1928, to which the Registrar-General draws attention in his Annual Report for that year, may be regarded as fortuitous. The heaviest incidence since 1928 has not been in coal-mining counties. The following statement gives the figures asked for in the second part of the question:
§ Dr. SHIELSThe Central Africa Railway Company and the Trans-Zambesi Railway Company have accepted the tender of the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company for the construction of the Zambesi Bridge and Southern Approach at a cost of £1,434,337, involving an expenditure in this country of about £550,000. The contract provides for the completion of the work within a period of 54 months. The reply to the last part of the question is in the negative.