§ MR. ALDEN (Middlesex, Tottenham)I beg to ask the Prime Minister if he is aware that there have been 224 serious crimes committed by Chinese coolies during the months of April and May, including seventy-nine cases of house-breaking, and twenty-three cases of murder; whether any steps have been taken by the mine-owners to ensure that the 8,000 Chinese, whom they propose to introduce before the end of the year, do not belong to the criminal classes; and, if not, whether, in the interests of the resident population of the Transvaal, His Majesty's Government can undertake to prevent the further importation of labourers dangerous to the lives and property of the people of this colony.
§ MR. CHURCHILLMy right hon. friend has requested me to reply to this Question. The numbers which I furnished to the hon. Member yesterday give seventy cases of house-breaking in the two months. I have on a former occasion pointed out that the mine-owners and the labour agency they employ have every inducement not to ship coolies of the criminal classes, as all dangerous characters are liable to be repatriated at at the mine-owners' expense. The Secretary of State is informed that practically all the crimes mentioned other than house-breaking are cases of crime committed by one coolie upon another.
§ MR. MACKARNESSasked whether the victims were not usually white people?
§ MR. CHURCHILLI think the figures I gave yesterday referred mainly to white people.