§ MR. MACKARNESS (Berkshire, Newbury)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the Report, recently issued in the Transvaal by the superintendent of foreign labour, showing that the Chinese coolies in the gold mines committed 736 assaults, including twenty-six murders and seven attempts to murder; and whether, in any case, and, if so, in how many cases, the sufferers from these crimes, or their families, have received any compensation from the employers of the criminals or from any other source.
§ MR. CHURCHILLThe exact figures are:—
| Common assault | 630 |
| Assault with intent | 78 |
| Murder | 26 |
| Homicide | 2 |
| Attempted murder | 7 |
| 743 |
§ The majority of these outrages were probably committed on fellow labourers. No official information with regard to compensation has been received, but I will make inquiry.
§ MR. MACKARNESSThen am I to understand that in no case has compensation been given?
§ MR. CHURCHILLI did not say that; I said I have no official information. When I get it I shall be able to inform the hon. Member.
§ MR. LEHMANN (Leicestershire, Market Harborough)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the Annual Report of the Foreign Labour Department of the Transvaal for 1905–6, which shows that among 47,600 Chinese coolies working in the Transvaal gold mines during the year to which the Report relates, there were no loss than twenty-six convictions for murder, 210 for housebreaking, 307 for forgery, and eighty-nine for public violence; and whether, seeing that the proportion of crime thus shown is in excess of the 543 proportion of the same crimes committed by the 10,000,000 of adult males of England and Wales, he will lay the Report upon the Table of the House.
§ MR. CHURCHILLThe figures are correct. The Report shall be laid.