§ MR. REESI beg to ask the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether 218 British Indians enjoy the same rights as European colonists in the East African Protectorate in respect of mining, settling, and acquiring land; whether representations to the contrary have been made to the Colonial Office, and, if so, whether they are still pending; and, if they have been disposed of. whether he will inform the House of the result.
§ MR. CHURCHILLIt is contrary to the policy of His Majesty's Government to exclude any class of His Majesty's subjects from mining, settling, and acquiring land in any part of a British Protectorate over which he exerts direct control, but in view of the comparatively limited area in the East African Protectorate suitable for European colonisation, a reasonable discretion is exercised in dealing with applications for land on the part of natives of India and other non-Europeans. It appears from a despatch which has been recently received from the Commissioner of the Protectorate that a meeting was held by the Indian Community in Mombasa for the purpose of urging on the Government that equal rights should be accorded to Indians and Europeans. This led to a public meeting of the European settlers being hold at Nairobi, at which a resolution was passed urging the Imperial Government to reserve for European settlement the only part of the Protectorate suited to Europeans. The resolution has been transmitted by the Colonists' Association to the Secretary of State, who is sending a reply in the sense of the first part of this answer.
§ MR. R. DUNCAN (Lanarkshire, Govan)Is the " reasonable discretion " to be such as is sometimes shown by the Under-Secretary?
§ MR. CHURCHILLI do not gather so from the answer.