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SIR C. HILL
( Shrewsbury)
To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the duration of leases of land in the East Africa Protectorate I has recently been reduced from ninety-nine to twenty-one years; and, if so, what is the reason for such reduction.
( Answered by Mr. Churchill) The reason for the reduction was that it was not thought desirable to tie up large tracts of land for such a long period as ninety-nine years at a nominal rent for pastural purposes, which do not involve much expenditure for development by the lessee, but the Secretary of State will further consider the matter in the light I of the recommendations which may be made by Mr. Macdonald, the newly appointed Commissioner of Agriculture.