§ MR. O'GRADY (Leeds E.)To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the recent troubles in Demerara; whether he will indicate the cause of the alleged riot; whether an armed police force was used and H.M.S. "Diamond" urgently dispatched from Bermuda to quell the alleged riot; whether the action taken by the Governor during the troubles was on his own initiative or from instructions received from the Colonial Office; and whether information will be laid upon the Table of this House dealing with the whole matter.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill). The disturbances arose out of a general strike of casual wharf labourers at Georgetown for higher wages. The strikers were joined by the more turbulent classes of the population, and on 1st December the violence of the mob made it necessary for the police to use their firearms. At the request of the Governor, H.M.S. "Sappho" and H.M.S. "Diamond" arrived at Georgetown from Trinidad and Barbados, and detachments of blue-jackets were landed; but no further serious disturbances occurred after their arrival. The Governor acted on his own initiative in the suppression of the disturbances, but the measures which he took have been approved by the Secre- 1280 tary of State. Correspondence on the subjects will shortly be laid upon the Table of the House.