§ *SIR W. EVANS GORDON (Tower Hamlets, Stepney)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is customary at all or any of the immigration ports when an alien immigrant declares that he is a 818 political refugee, for the immigration officers to demand any corroboration of such declaration; if so, what is the nature of the corroboration demanded, and to what extent is the mere statement of the immigrant accepted.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. GLADSTONE,) Leeds W.I have every reason to believe that the immigration officers take the utmost pains to carry out their duty in regard to political refugees, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and their instructions there under. It is a point on which corroboration or refutation are matters of extreme difficulty; and the Answer to the latter part of the Question must depend on the circumstances of each particular case.