§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many men have been hanged, how many men have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment and floggings, and what was the number of the lashes inflicted in each case of a sentence of flogging, and how many men have been sentenced to imprisonment without flogging during the martial-law régime in Natal, in consequence of the loss of two lives, that of a sub-inspector who shot a native dead and that of a trooper in a riot resulting from the arrest of two natives at Byrnetown, Natal, last February, by a body of armed Colonial police for the resistance of a poll-tax of £1 per head imposed by the Legislature on adult unmarried natives.
§ MR. CHURCHILLI am not in a position to give the total number of those sentenced to imprisonment during the operation of martial-law in Natal. With regard to those sentenced for participation in the murder of the two policemen at Byrnetown I understand that in addition to the twelve men shot, three men were hanged, and five men sentenced to imprisonment with twenty-five lashes.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether in addition to the number of natives shot, flogged, and imprisoned, and imprisoned without flogging, on being found guilty by court-martial of being concerned in the deaths of Inspector Hunt and Trooper Arm- 292 strong in February last, three more natives have recently been tried and hanged on a charge of being implicated in that riot; whether one of these natives, who had been badly wounded and was unable to stand without the aid of crutches, was brought, by the order of the Governor, to the scaffold in a dying condition, that his crutches were kicked away, and that he was supported by warders on the scaffold while waiting for the lever to be pulled; and whether, having regard to the sensation produced in Natal by these executions and the circumstances attending them, and the indignation thereby aroused, the Colonial Secretary has any, and, if so, what statement to make in explanation or defence of this transaction, or with reference to the conduct of the Governor in sanctioning it
§ MR. CHURCHILLIt is a fact that three more natives were recently tried, found guilty and hanged for the murder of Inspector Hunt and Trooper Armstrong. The Secretary of State has no information as to the circumstances of the execution. The prisoners were tried by the Supreme Court, not by court-martial, and the Indemnity Act has therefore no bearing on the matter.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLasked if it was not the fact that the murder occurred last February and that these men accused of complicity had been kept in prison the whole time.
§ MR. CHURCHILLreplied in the affirmative, and added that the men were kept awaiting trial until they had recovered from the injuries they had received in the affray.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLWas not this a case in which the prerogative of mercy might well have been exercised? Did the Governor communicate with the Colonial Office on the subject?
§ MR. CHURCHILLI do not think I can make any statement on this subject. Necessarily such representations would be of an entirely confidential nature. The Government knew that the sentences were to be executed, and consequently shared equally with the Governor any responsibility there was.