§ MR. O'GRADY (Leeds, E.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the case of four British-Indian boys who were punished as prohibited immigrants for entering the Transvaal with their parents, three to a fine of £15 or two months imprisonment, and one to a fine of £5 or fourteen days hard labour; whether he is aware that three of the boys were ten, eleven, and twelve years of age, and that they were all sent to gaol; and whether he can state the number of British-Indian children that have been sent to gaol for a similar offence.
§ MR. SCOTT (Ashton-under-Lyne)At the same time may I ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies-whether he has yet received a report of the case of Hira Mulji, a boy of twelve, who was recently sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment for entering the Transvaal with his father, and subsequently sentenced to a further month's imprisonment for the same offence; and whether he proposes to take any steps in this matter, and prevent the further imprisonment of British-Indian children in like circumstances.
§ COLONEL SEELYWe are still waiting for a reply from the Governor to our telegraphic inquiry.
§ * MR. REESWill the hon. Gentleman also inquire if there are institutions other than prisons to which the children could be sent in such cases if they did not accompany their parents to prison?
§ COLONEL SEELYYes, I will inquire.