HC Deb 08 March 1904 vol 131 cc455-6
MR. HERBERT SAMUEL (Yorkshire, Cleveland)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether in view of the fact that Chinese labourers recruited for the Transvaal mines are to be taken to Hong-Kong, where the terms of their contract are to be officially explained to them for the first time, he will secure that those labourers who then decide not to accept the terms of the contract shall be sent back to their homes at the expense of the persons who have enlisted them: and whether he will secure also that this alternative shall be fully explained to each labourer by the official representing the Government.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. LYTTELTON,) Warwick and Leamington

It is proposed that the recruiter's licence shall make it obligatory on him to explain to the labourer, before he leaves his district, the full terms and conditions of the contract.

MR. HERBERT SAMUEL

Am I not correct in saying that for the first time these conditions will be explained officially when the labourers are brought to Hong-Kong?

MR. LYTTELTON

It depends on the exact meaning which the hon. Member attaches to the word "official."