§ Sir CLEMENT KINLOCH-COOKEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has seen the statement made by Sir Alfred Sharpe, late Governor of the Nyasaland Protectorate, to the effect that only from 10,000 to 15,000 labourers are required in Nyasaland annually, and that there is a large exportable surplus; whether that statement represents the view of His Majesty's Government; and whether, if the Nyasaland restrictions upon emigration are to be governed by the view that they are subservient to domestic and tribal ties, he will state why the same argument is not to be applied to all other South African territories, for example, to the natives of Zululand, Basutoland, Swaziland, and the Transkei?
Mr. HARCOURTI have seen the statement referred to, but it does not represent the opinion of the present Governor of the Protectorate, who asserts that it gives a very inaccurate account of the situation. With regard to the last part of the question, the circumstances of each territory require individual consideration, and I am, as at present advised, opposed to anything that would have the result of breaking up domestic and tribal ties in Nyasaland.