§ BARON HENRY DE WORMS (Liverpool, East Toxteth)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is able to confirm or otherwise the statement made by Mr. Fox Bourne, the Secretary of the Aborigines' 182 Protection Society, at the annual meeting of that Society on the 17th instant, that he (the Secretary) had had an interview with the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, and that the wishes of the Society with regard to the Zulu exiles would be substantially gratified within the next few months; whether these words are to be accepted as implying that the Zulu Chiefs now at St. Helena are to be released and allowed to return to Zululand; and whether the Governor and authorities of Zululand have been consulted as to the expediency of this step?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. S. BUXTON,) Tower Hamlets, PoplarThe statement attributed to the Secretary of the Aborigines' Protection Society is not correct, and I understand that he denies having made it. The only statement I have made in regard to the matter is that Mr. Osborn (now Sir Melmoth Osborn) is retiring on pension, and that, until after his successor takes up his appointment, no change will be made in the present position of affairs. His successor will be Sir. Marshall Clarke, who for so many years has been administering Basutoland with marked ability.