§ MR. SUMMERBELL (Sunderland)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the regulations as regards indentured labour, framed in 1846 for Trinidad, are still in force; whether the expenses of indentured labourers are met in the following proportions—-three-fifteenths from employers applying for labourers, five-fifteenths from the general revenue, and seven-fifteenths from an export tax on produce; and whether he will cause inquiries to be made into the whole question, in order to decide the advisability of stopping the recruiting of indentured labour for the West Indies at an early date.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. CHURCHILL, Manchester, N.W.)The Trinidad Masters and Servants Ordinance of 1846 is still in force; it does not, however, apply to Indian immigrants, who are governed by Ordinance No. 19 of 1899. The proportions in which the expense of indentured labourers are met are as stated. The Secretary of State sees no reason for such an inquiry.