§ MR. SEALE-HAYNEI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, having regard to his reply in the House of Commons on the 31st of July last, relative to the evictions and consequent deaths from starvation in Ceylon, the Governor has completed his "searching inquiry" which he was making into the circumstances and results of such evictions; whether the complete Return of the number of Evictions and Deaths from Starvation in each year from 1869 to 1889 will be added to the Returns of Vital Statistics published in the Ceylon Gazette as heretofore; whether the lists of Newara Eliya district land sales for Paddy Tax, referred to in Mr. Moir's Report, dated 25th September, 1889, have been received by the Colonial Office; and whether those lists show that land sales affecting 10,283 men, women, and children have taken place, and that, as stated by Mr. Le Mesurier, Assistant Government Agent, 981 have died of consequent want, destitution, and disease, and 2,539 persons left destitute in the villages?
§ *THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Baron H. de WORMS,) Liverpool, East ToxtethThe results of the searching inquiry were contained in the full and exhaustive Report by Mr. Moir, which was received at the Colonial Office on the 11th November, and which the hon. Member has no doubt seen. A copy of the question put by the hon. Baronet the Member for Hythe on the 31st of July, and of my reply, was sent to the Governor, and ho was asked to furnish the Return asked for, if it could be made out with any approximation to accuracy. The Return has not been received, and our latest vital statistics are those published in the Colonial Gazettes for 1888 and the first quarter of 1889. The Registrar General has, however, supplied information for the two Divisions of the Nuwara Eliya District, in which the great mortality from starvation is said to have occurred in the years 1882 to 1885; and his statistics show that as nearly as can be ascertained the death- 15 rata per 1,000 between 1881 and 1888 was slightly less than between 1871 and 1880, and that the population was larger in 1881 than in 1871, and in 1888 than in 1881. Mr. Moir states, at the end of his Report, that the lists referred to being very voluminous are not sent; but an abstract of them is given, from which the figures mentioned in the question are correctly quoted. Mr. Le Mesurier's letters on the subject are also included. The Secretary of State has given the whole matter the most careful consideration, and has seen no reason to doubt the soundness of Mr. Moir's conclusions, which are supported by the Registrar Generals' Returns and other statistics. He considers that while in some cases hardship was caused by too inflexible collection of arrears, there has been very grave exaggeration; and this, as I stated on the 31st of July, was from the first believed to be the case.
§ MR. SEALE-HAYNEDO I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that the figures are incorrect?
§ *BARON H. DE WORMSNo, Sir; the figures are not incorrect.