§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if, having regard to the fact that rice is the staple food of the Indian coolie immigrant in Ceylon, he will consider the expediency of arranging for a reduction in the present tax in Ceylon on that article of food.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) I am not aware that the tax is found to bear hardly on the Indian immigrants, and, inasmuch as it brings in a large sum to the revenue which is being expended on railways, irrigation, and other objects which benefit both the immigrant and the native population of the island, the Secretary of State, as at present advised, is not disposed to interfere with it.