§ SIR ROBERT FOWLER (London)asked the Under Secretary of State for 637 the Colonies, If the convict officers who were transferred from the English Service to the Penitentiary at Kingston, Jamaica, in October 1883, elect to return home at the expiration of their three years' engagement, the Government will defray the expenses of their passages home; and, whether they will be reinstated in the Imperial Service?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. OSBORNE MORGAN) (Denbighshire, E.)The officers in question were not engaged for three years, but received permanent appointments in the service of the Colony. They are, therefore, in the condition of all other permanent officers, and as such cannot claim to have the expense of their return passage defrayed by the Government. The second Question on the Paper is one which should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary rather than to me.