asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what steps are being taken to remove the administrative capital of Bechuanaland from Mafeking into Bechuanaland itself.

I cannot yet add anything to the information given by my hon. Friend on 24th April.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that a move of this nature has been desirable for a very long time, purely for administrative reasons? Will not he give consideration to building a new capital, possibly near Gaberones, because none of the towns in the Protectorate is entirely suitable as a capital? They either have no water or are too far from railway lines.

As my hon. Friend has indicated, that is really one of the problems. A move of this kind is really quite an expensive affair. None the less, as I have already indicated, this is one of the matters being reviewed at present, and I can assure my hon. Friend that his suggestion will be borne in mind.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that that Answer was exactly the same as the Answer I received to approximately the same Question put down a year ago? This is a capital of a territory entirely outside its own territory. This is crazy, and something must be done about it very quickly.

There is no harm in consistency.