§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has approved of a resolution reported to have been passed by the Intercolonial or 1071 Railway Extension Council in the Transvaal, on 8th July, limiting the number of Kaffirs to be employed in railway construction to 10,000, and also of the resolution as to the exclusion of Kaffir labour recruited north of Pretoria already announced.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain.) The first resolution referred to I have not yet received. With regard to the second resolution my answer to the right hon. Memberon 21st July † referred him to Resolution XII of the Railway Extension Conference, which is to be found at page 87 of Cd. 1552, and is worded as follows—
This Conference is of opinion that in the construction of new lines every care should be taken not to impair the labour supply of the mines, and that when any line is given to a contractor it should, if necessary, be made a condition of the contract that no aboriginal natives of South Africa should be employed unless belonging to tribes which are known to be averse to underground labour.I see no objection to this resolution, but I am not so far aware that a resolution has been passed for the exclusion of all Kaffir labour recruited north of Pretoria, without reference to its character, in the case of contracts for the railways.