§ MR. BRIDGEMAN (Shropshire, Oswestry)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any intimation that the Members of the Immigration Board for the Port of London disapprove of the instructions issued by him to immigration boards and immigration officers that an immigrant producing £5 is (in the absence of any reason for supposing that the money is not his own) to be considered to have satisfied the condition of Section 1 (3) (a) of the Aliens Act, 1905, as to having in his possession the means of decently supporting himself; 68 and will he say under which section of the Aliens Act, 1905, he issued such an instruction.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEThis was not an instruction, but merely an expression of my predecessor's opinion, adopted by myself, that the production by an immigrant of £5 is a convenient way of showing to the immigration officer his possession of means. It has never been suggested that it should be an absolute test. I received two months ago a communication from the London Immigration Board dissenting from the use of the so-called "£5 test," but this was founded, I think, on the erroneous idea that the money was to be accepted as conclusive proof without further consideration.