§ MR. MYER (Lambeth, N.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether our fellow subjects, natives of India and also the natives of Natal, are precluded from holding lands or properties, and from the pursuit of various trading industries, and also from possessing civil rights; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any steps to secure their being placed on the same footing as British residents.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. CHURCHILL,) Manchester, N.W.The hon. Member has omitted to specify to 1159 what part of the world his Question is intended to apply; and if I am to assume that it is South Africa that he has in view, I am still left in doubt concerning which State or States he seeks information. The laws which impose disqualifications of different characters on natives of India and upon South African aboriginals vary considerably in the Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies, Rhodesia, and Zululand, and it would be idle for me to attempt to satisfy the hon. Gentleman until I know more definitely what his wishes are.