§ MR. GOULDING (Wiltshire, Devizes)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that Section 3 of 6th William IV. empowers chief officers of Customs at ports of the United Kingdom to demand of all aliens arriving in this country a declaration of their names and places of origin, and the 260 production of any passport of which they may be possessed, and that the enforcement of this Section has been allowed to fall into desuetude, though certain other provisions of the Act continue to be enforced; and whether, considering the number of alien immigrants who arrive from Russia and Roumania, and are obliged by their respective Governments to provide themselves with passports before leaving those countries, he will instruct the authorities to enforce Section 3 of the Act cited, and keep a register of such aliens as arrive from those countries with, and of such as arrive without, passports.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR, Leeds, Central)It is true that under Section 3 of the Act 6 and 7, William IV., Cap 11, aliens may be required to attend before the chief officer of Customs to make a declaration as indicated, but the information provided for by such declaration is already obtained in the shape of the declaration which the master of a vessel bringing aliens is required, under a penalty of £20, to furnish under Section 2 of the same Act. The accuracy of the latter declaration is cheeked by the officers of Customs attending the vessels on arrival, and no useful purpose would be served by requiring aliens to appear before the chief officer of Customs in person. Should it be thought desirable to record the number of aliens arriving with or without passports respectively, the Section referred to in the Question would enable the information to be obtained from the individual immigrants. It is, however, doubtful if the particulars thus obtained would be worth the trouble and expense of collection.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURWhat scandal?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThi would not stop it.