§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNOR (Donegal, E.)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether a Petition, signed by British residents, bankers, and merchants in Java has been forwarded to the Secretary of State, setting forth the hardships to which they are exposed in the shape of compulsory military service in the Auxiliary Force called the Schuttery; whether all able-bodied Europeans and Eurasians in Java are enrolled in this Force; whether those physically incapacitated are taxed in lieu of service; whether those enrolled have to submit to be drilled by barefooted natives; whether non-attendance at drill are punished by fine and imprisonment; whether the United States Government have interfered to protect American citizens; and, whether the Government intend to do anything in the matter?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)I have already answered more than one similar Question. Ac- 525 cording to the information in the possession of Her Majesty's Government the first, second, and fourth Questions must be answered in the affirmative; as to the third and the fifth we have no information. As I have before stated, there is nothing in the Treaties between this country and the Netherlands to exempt British subjects resident in Dutch Colonies from service in the Militia.
§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNOR, further asked, if it were a fact that the Europeans in Java only formed about 10 per cent of the population; that though of these only a very small proportion were British subjects, yet they were practically the chief sources of revenue; whether they were subject to a ridiculous and vexatious system of fines; and whether they had to provide their own uniform?
§ SIR JAMES FERGUSSONsaid, he had no information about these particulars. Whatever their numbers were, British citizens living in a Dutch Colony must submit to the same obligations as the rest of the population.