§ MR. BRIGHT (Shropshire, Oswestry)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the terms and conditions upon which able-bodied natives were recruited in Basutoland and Orange River Colony before February, 1905; what was the commission paid upon such recruiting; whether his attention has been called to the alteration of those terms and conditions in the circular of the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association, Limited, dated 17th March last; and what is the commission now paid.
§ MR. LYTTELTONNatives from Basutoland and the Orange River Colony were recruited on contracts of four months duration, but practically no natives were obtained from the Orange River Colony, as there is little or no 79 surplus population there available for work outside the colony. The fee charged by the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association to its members for natives on a four months contract was £2. The latest information in my possession is the despatch from Lord Selborne printed at p. 49 of Cd. 2563, in which a copy of the circular is enclosed. The fee for natives recruited for twelve months, the period now fixed, was, and I believe still is, £5.