§ MR. BLACKTo ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the estimated cost of transporting a man, his wife, and four children under ten years of age from Hong-Kong to Durban, and returning them at the end of the period of service; whether the whole of this cost falls on the importer; and, if so, whether he has considered what prospect there is of an importer engaging men who demand the transport of their wives and families as compared with men who make no such demand.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Lyttelton.) I am not prepared to give an estimate of the cost, but it will fall upon the importer. I have caused provision to be made by regulation for facilities for the introduction of the wives and families of labourers, but it must naturally be determined by experience to what extent married labourers are engaged or are accompanied by their wives and families.