§ CAPTAIN CRAIG (Down, E.)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Chinese coolies have applied to be repatriated since the repatriation notices were posted in the Transvaal mines, on the grounds that they considered the conditions under which they worked to be tantamount to slavery.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Colonel SEELY,) Liverpool, AbercrombyI cannot add anything to the Answer given by my predecessor to a similar Question by the hon. and gallant Member on 27th February of last year.
§ CAPTAIN CRAIGHas a single case arisen, since the repatriation notices were posted, in which any one of these Chinese coolies has asked to be repatriated on the ground that his service was tantamount to slavery?
§ COLONEL SEELYI must refer the hon. Member to the Answer given last year. As he has asked this Question three times already, surely he must be cognisant of the Answer.
§ CAPTAIN CRAIGIn view of the importance of the matter, may I press for information as to what has happened during the past year.
§ COLONEL SEELYThe hon. Gentleman asks as to what the Chinese themselves consider conditions of slavery. It is impossible for me to see into the minds of the Chinese labourer.
§ MR. MOORE (Armagh, N.)Are we to understand that since the Question referred to no applications for repatriation have been made?
§ COLONEL SEELYreplied that the hon. Member must understand nothing of the kind. The Question was whether a certain number of Chinese asked to be repatriated on certain grounds existing in their own minds as to their service. If the hon. Member would put down a definite Question he would endeavour to answer it.
§ CAPTAIN CRAIGinquired whether it had not been stated again and again by the Party opposite that the Chinese coolies must assign a reason for claiming repatriation. In view of that, he asked if any Chinese coolie had assigned as a reason for repatriation that he considered his terms of labour tantamount to slavery.
§ COLONEL SEELYreplied that if the hon. Member would put down a Question as to the reasons assigned he would be happy to answer it.
§ CAPTAIN CRAIGrose to ask another Question, but Mr. SPEAKER intervening, pointed out that the Under-Secretary for the Colonies had already invited him to put down a further Question.