§ MR. DILLON (Mayo, E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is a wane that there are 50,000 British subjects from India in the Colony of Natal who are denied the franchise and have no share in the government of the colony; whether the children of these people are to a huge extent excluded from the Government schools; and whether he has taken, or proposes to take, any steps to insist on the franchise being granted in Natal to these British subjects
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.(1) By the law of Natal (No. 8 of 1896) natives of countries which have not possessed elective representative institutions founded on the Parliamentary franchise are not entitled to the franchise unless they obtain an 1371 order from the Governor in Council exempting them from the operation of the Act, and British Indians are embraced in this category. (2) There is no rule, I understand, excluding Indians from Government schools. The Government supports special schools for Indians in centres where there is any considerable population. (3) The answer is in the negative.
§ MR. DAVITTI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether British subjects from India settling in Natal are as such entitled to the franchise and are allowed to exercise it; if he can state approximately the proportion of the 50,000 Indian British subjects in the colony who are thus privileged; whether any provision is made by the laws of the colony for the education of these subjects in their own language; and if he can state how much of the taxes, to which these people contribute, is devoted to this purpose.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN(1) I have already given the answer in reply to the question put to me by the hon. Member for Mayo, E. (2) I am not aware of the exact number, but it is small. (3) I believe not, and I am not aware of any demand for such instruction of Indians, but in the special schools for Indian children, numbering about thirty, which receive grants from the Government, a number of Indian teachers are employed. (4) The Government grant-in-aid of Indian schools for the last financial year was £2,200.