Mr. CATHCART WASONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether he had any official information to the effect that recruiting in Angola had again commenced; if he could state whether any precautions were being taken 626 to prevent the abuses which formerly existed being repeated; and if he would publish the latest reports from His Majesty's Consul at Loanda on the present conditions of recruiting.
The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. McKinnon Wood)On 18th March last His Majesty's Consul at Loanda reported that recruiting had been sanctioned, but that no shipments were to take place for the present. With regard to the second part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gravesend on 5th April, and I would add that in the despatch above referred to His Majesty's Consul at Loanda states that the Governor-General of Portuguese West Africa has been strictly enjoined to deal with any acts of irregularity which may occur in the working of the new regulations. With regard to the third part of the question, I do not propose to publish any papers at present on this subject, but when His Majesty's Consul is in a position to report on the manner in which the regulations are being enforced, I will consider whether papers can usefully be laid.