§ MR. M. DAVITT (Mayo, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he received a communication in July, 1897, from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, warning the Colonial Office against the feeling which the imposition of the hut tax in Sierra Leone would arouse among the natives; whether the communication in question referred to the tax as being oppressive; what steps, if any, were taken by the Colonial Office to ascertain if these representations were well founded; and whether now, when it is acknowledged that this tax has caused the existing rebellion, measures will be taken as soon as possible to inform the natives affected that the tax will be discontinued?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIESI received the letter referred to, and communicated it to the Governor, who was of the opinion that the tax would not be oppressive, and with a view of preventing this large 959 exemptions were made where it was thought that the tax would press heavily on the owners. As regards the retention of the tax, I may refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made on the subject, in reply to his previous Question on the 21st instant, but I may add that it would be dangerous in any country to establish the principle that every tax which the taxpayer considers oppressive must necessarily be discontinued.