§ Mr. T. Williamsasked the Secretary of Stae for the Colonies whether he has under consideration the extension to other territories of such legislation as the Sierra Leone Mining Benefits Trust Fund Ordinance?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreIt is always the policy of Colonial Administrations to secure for the community in general as large a share as possible of the proceeds of mining developments in their territories. The particular method adopted in the Sierra Leone Mining Benefits Trust Fund Ordinance has been applied also in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast and in Nyasaland, and its adoption will be considered in any other appropriate case that may arise; but in normal circumstances I am inclined to think that the best arrangement is for payments by mining companies to go not into a special fund but into the general revenues of the territory concerned and be available for the general services of the community as a whole.