§ Mr. RUPERT GWYNNEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what has been the total issue of rupee notes to the Government of the East Africa Protectorate; and whether these notes are secured by coined rupees held by the Government of India, or are they fiduciary?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe rupee currency notes used in East Africa are issued under the provisions of the East Africa and Uganda (Currency) Order in Council, 1905. They are secured by the Note Guarantee Fund, consisting partly of investments and partly of coin in the hands of the local Currency Commissioners, and they are further secured on the general revenue of the East Africa Protectorate. I have no information as to the total issue of these currency notes, but the total amount in circulation on the 10th March, 1916, the latest date for which I have figures, was Rs.79,87,500. On the same date the coin portion of the Note Guarantee Fund consisted of—gold, Rs.5,02,500, and silver, Rs. 32,66,497, and the investments were of the nominal value of £301,819.
§ Mr. GWYNNEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the British troops, native, Boer, or British, now operating in East Africa under General Smuts, are paid in Government of India rupees; and, if so, whether there is any 1999W record available of the number of Indian rupees imported and absorbed by the East Africa Protectorate for this and other purposes during the past two years?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI have no definite information as to the arrangements made for the issue of pay to the troops in East Africa, but I assume that, so far as troops in the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda are not paid in local currency notes, the Indian rupee, which is the standard coin of British East Africa, is generally used. As the coin required is furnished almost entirely by the local banks, I regret that I have no information as to the amount imported in the last two years.
§ Mr. GWYNNEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, if the legal tender currency of the East Africa Protectorate is to continue as hitherto to be the Indian rupee, he will consider the desirability, in the interests of economy and safety, of minting the coins required in Mombasa or Nairobi?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe question of future currency arrangements in East Africa will receive careful consideration after the War. In the meantime I do not consider that the advantages to be gained from my hon. Friend's suggestion would justify the establishment of a local mint.