§ MR. T. F. RICHARDS (Wolverhampton, W.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the effect of the tax put upon traps exported from this country to Southern Nigeria upon the makers of these traps in the Wednesfield district of Wolverhampton and also upon the natives who augment their income by trapping, and who now claim that the trapping is checked for the benefit of sport and sportsmen; and whether his Department will advise the removal of this tax until at least the policy has been accepted by the Government.
§ COLONEL SEELYAs regards the effect of the increased duty upon the makers of the traps, and the policy of the Government in this matter, I can add nothing to the very full printed reply which I gave on the 8th of this month to my hon. friend the Member for Wolverhampton. No complaints have reached the Colonial Office from the natives, nor any suggestion that trapping is checked in the interests of sport, and I may observe that the proposal to increase the duty was carried unanimously in the Legislative Council with the support of the native members.