§ MR. SERJEANT SIMONasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the Colonial Office will cause Papers to be laid upon the Table of the House showing the number of the black population who have left Jamaica for Panama, under contract with the Canal Company, and the nature of the contracts under which they are employed; and, whether any have returned to Jamaica; and, if so, what number?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYThe only information we have is contained in a short despatch just received from the Governor, in which he says that during the year ending on December 31st, 13,348 labourers left Jamaica for the Isthmus of Panama, and that only 4,992 returned to the Colony. Up to the end of January of this year, 1,346 had left the Island, and only 196 had returned. We have no information as to the nature of their contracts.