§ MR. J. RAMSAY MACDONALD: (Leicester)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has had several communications from the Baptist Missionary Society complaining that Article 6 of the Berlin Act of 1885, relating to the Government of the Congo, 1346 under which free and public exercise of every creed, and the right to erect religious buildings and to organise missions is to be subject to no restriction or impediment, has not recently been observed as regards this society, and complaining that a site belonging to the society has been occupied by the Congo Government without compensation and without another having been given in exchange; whether he has received from this society complaints that the fiscal imposts upon materials used for the construction of churches, Schools, and Hospitals, and for the carrying out of the general work of missionary societies, are heavy and oppressive; and whether he is in a position to state what action he has taken regarding these complaints, and with what result.
§ MR. RUNCIMANMy right hon. friend has been for some time past in communication with the society on the subject, and the actual cases which have given rise to complaint are being carefully examined in order to see what action can be taken respecting them.