§ MR. LOUGH (Islington, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that under the laws governing Asiatic immigration into Trinidad and British Guiana it is made a special criminal offence for any employer, manager or officer to assault, or in any way ill-use, an indentured immigrant; whether the Transvaal Ordinance contains any such provision for the protection of the Chinese labourers; and, if not, whether he will insist on such protection being provided for in the Ordinance.
§ *MR. LYTTELTONThere is no such provision in the Ordinance; the offences referred to are sufficiently dealt with by the existing law of the Transvaal.
§ MR. LOUGHI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he is aware that provision is made by the laws governing Asiatic immigration into Trinidad arid British Guiana enabling indentured labourers to absent themselves from their labour in order to obtain redress summarily in the Colonial Courts for ill-treatment complained of by them, or for wages withheld from them; whether there is any provision in the Transvaal Ordinance enabling Chinese labourers to obtain such redress in the Courts of the Transvaal; and, if not, whether he will secure the insertion in the Ordinance of provisions giving like protection to Chinese labourers.
§ *MR. LYTTELTONThere is no special provision of this nature in the Transvaal Ordinance, but under Section 3 it is the duty of the superintendent to act on behalf of the labourer in bringing before the Courts any complaints as to the matters therein referred to.
§ MR. LOUGHCannot the right hon. Gentleman promise that the labourer shall have some liberty to protect himself and not depend entirely on the superintendent?
§ *MR. LYTTELTONThey will have every liberty, but the superintendent will probably be able to act for them more effectually.