§ Lord E. PERCYasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any advances have been made out of the Colonial Development Fund or out of any other money voted by Parliament towards paying interest on any loan raised by the Governments of Kenya, Uganda, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, or Tanganyika under the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926, as amended by the Colonial Development Act, 1929?
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEThe only loan which has been raised so far under the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926, is one by Tanganyika for £2,070,000 in 1928. No advance has been made out of the Colonial Development Fund or out of any other money voted by Parliament towards paying interest on that loan. The Treasury have, however, agreed that, subject to the fulfilment by the territories concerned of the statutory conditions, guarantees will be given in respect of loans to be raised in due course to meet
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§ Mr. SHINWELLThe average weekly cash earnings of all workers employed in the coal mines in each district in Great Britain during the years 1923 and 1927 to 1930, the latest available, were as follow:
expenditure on various approved schemes which is being met meantime by temporary borrowings. The following amounts have been sanctioned as grants to be made from the Colonial Development Fund over a period of years towards meeting the interest charges of certain of those schemes:
£ (i) Nyasaland, for the Zambesi Bridge scheme (approx.) 500,000 (ii) Tanganyika, for various schemes 83,000 The first item is in respect of a loan to be raised of upwards of £3,000,000; and the work was commenced in 1930, but no issue from the fund by way of interest grant has yet been required. The second item is in respect of schemes which will involve expenditure from guaranteed loan of about £1,060,000 most of the schemes were commenced in 1929 or 1930, and the issues from the fund to date in respect of interest grants amount 1465W to £11,777. No such interest grants have been sanctioned out of any other moneys voted by Parliament.
§ Lord E. PERCYasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the total amount of the advances which have been made out of the Colonial Development Fund under the Colonial Development Act, 1929; how much of this total has been advanced by way of grant and how much by way of loan; and what was the balance remaining in the fund at the close of the financial year 1930–31?
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEThe total amount of the advances actually issued from the Colonial Development Fund to date is £487,284. This is in respect of sanctioned advances totalling £2,654,659 to be issued as required over several years on, behalf of schemes involving an expenditure of about £8,896,000, including £4,122,000 to be met from guaranteed loans under the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926. Of the issues already made, £283,918 was by way of grant, and £203,366 by way of loan. The balance remaining in the fund at the close of the financial year 1930–31 was £408,220, of which £145,505 has since been issued.
§ Lord E. PERCYasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what guarantees have been given by the Treasury in respect of loans raised by the Governments of Kenya, Uganda, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and Tanganyika since the Colonial Development Act, 1929, became law, and under the terms of the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926, as amended by that Act; and what sums out of loans raised before that date have been devoted, with the approval of the Treasury, to the purpose of paying interest on any part of those loans?
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCENo loans guaranteed under the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926, as amended by the Colonial Development Act, 1929, have been raised since the latter Act became law. Since that date, however, the Treasury have agreed that, subject to the fulfilment by the Territories concerned of the statutory conditions, guarantees will be given in respect of loans to be raised in due course (1) by Nyasaland, to meet expenditure, estimated at £3,062,000, on the Zambesi Bridge scheme, and (2) by1466W Tanganyika, to meet expenditure estimated at £1,617,418, on various schemes. Pending the raising of guaranteed loans, both Territories are financing the expenditure on the schemes by temporary borrowings. As no guaranteed loans have been raised since the Colonial Development Act, 1929, became law, the second part of the question does not arise, but no part of the proceeds of guaranteed loans raised before that date could properly be devoted to the purpose of paying interest on guaranteed loans raised either before or after that date.