§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether his attention hag been called to the trial in Brisbane, Queensland, of the master and crew of the labour schooner Jessie, Kelly, on the charge of kidnapping natives from Mantana, in the Torres Group of Islands; whether it is a fact that, although the kidnapping was clearly proved, the offenders escaped punishment, owing to the defects in the new Labour Act of Queensland; and, whether Her Majesty's Government will make any representations in the matter to the Government of that Colony?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYWith reference to the case of the Jessie Kelly, our information does not point to the failure to convict having in any way arisen from any defect in the Labour Acts. The jury had before them nil the evidence which was tendered; but they came to the conclusion that the kidnapping was not clearly proved. Although we may think that, consistently with the evidence, a different conclusion might have been arrived at, we are not prepared to question the verdict.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the attention of the Government has been called to the following extract from the New Guinea Correspondent of the Sydney Echo, writing on 19th of March last, with reference to the kidnapping of natives for the sugar plantations of Queensland—
The Eileen was at the Louisiade group about three months ago. They found the natives in the islands there in great trouble and consternation because of the kidnapping of almost all the men and boys. At Russel Island, at Sud Est Island, and at a number of small islands in the group it was the same story. A three-masted vessel, they say, came, and by artifice and force got the men and boys on board. They were then put down below, and 396 prevented from returning on shore. No attempt at an agreement seems to have been made. The white men fired their guns, in some places, to frighten and drive the natives to the boats. George saw the bullet marks on some trees and canoes, but was told no one had been killed. The firing was probably to intimidate. A number of lads belonging to one of the islands were for a long time (two years, I believe) with Captain Fryer in the brig Julia M. Avery, and then returned to their home. All of these have been taken. It is to be hoped they will use the little English they know to report the way in which the 'recruits' have been obtained. On one small island, my informant tells me, only four men are left. No women were taken. The natives have no idea where the vessel came from, and do not know her name, nor that of the captain, nor any one on board;and, whether any steps will be taken to put an end to this system of recruiting labour for a British Dependency?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYThe Eileen case, as reported by the New Guinea Correspondent of the Sydney Echo, we cannot identify with any reported case, and some of the details given are on their face improbable. But, whatever their degree of truth, the hon. Member is wrong in assuming that it must necessarily have been a case of British subjects recruiting for a British Dependency. Foreign vessels seek labour for French plantations in the New Hebrides, for German plantations in New Britain, and for the Sandwich Islands and other places outside Her Majesty's Dominions. Such a system as the hon. Member describes is prevented in Queensland vessels by the presence of a Government agent, who is bound to record each place visited, and the character of the recruitment. The Queensland Government are honestly desirous of remedying the abuses of the traffic, and have just adopted a set of new and more stringent regulations for the purpose.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether his attention has been called to the Alfred Vittery murder case, which occupied the Supreme Court of Brisbane, Queensland, for five days; whether it transpired in the course of the trial that two Kanakas, who had been kidnapped, were shot dead in the hold of the ship by the crew, in consequence of showing "an insubordinate spirit," and a desire to escape; whether the trial ended in the acquittal of all the men except one, who was convicted of manslaughter; whether the one man so convicted was, three days later, released 397 upon his own recognizances; and, whether the Imperial Government regard with satisfaction the means whereby black labour is recruited from the South Sea Islands for the sugar plantations of Queensland?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYIn the case of the Alfred Vittery the jury were locked up from 8 o'clock in the evening till the midday following. The defence was that the two Kanaka were shot to preserve the ship from being set on fire by them down below. It is difficult, within the limits of a Question, to point out the bearings of all the different details of a case like this; but I may say generally that it appears decidedly to have been a failure of justice, and the Colonial Office has so expressed itself. As to the release of the one prisoner convicted, that stands on a different footing, and his act of shooting the dead or dying Kanaka through the head as his body was being thrown overboard may very reasonably be regarded as an act prompted by innocent motives. As to the general question, of course the Government cannot but view with great dissatisfaction the abuses which undoubtedly from time to time occur. A Circular has recently been sent to the Australian Colonies, in which Her Majesty's Government propose to the Colonies that the High Commissioner's jurisdiction should be strengthened and extended, provided the Colonies will agree to bear some portion of the cost; and Her Majesty's Government also propose that this question of the labour trade should, in conjunction with the Colonial Governments, be considered anew, to see if it cannot be more efficiently regulated, or, indeed, whether it should be continued at all.
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHasked whether a copy of the Circular referred to would be laid on the Table?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYYes. I will inquire how soon it could be produced.