§ 2. Sir CLEMENT HILLasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any information suggesting that abuses have arisen out of the employment of aborigines under the 981 control of British companies in other districts than those under the management of the Peruvian Amazon Company; and, if so, what steps are being taken?
§ Sir E. GREYI have not before me at the present time charges against British companies other than the Peruvian Amazon Company that have not been satisfactorily disposed of, but if the hon. Member would inform me what particular districts and companies he has in his mind, I will endeavour to give a more precise answer. It is a somewhat arduous undertaking to search all the correspondence relating to British companies in all parts of the world for the last seven years.
§ 69. Sir CLEMENT HILLasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received any information suggesting that abuses have arisen out of the employment of aborigines under the control of British companies in other districts than those under the management of the Peruvian Amazon Company; and, if so, what steps are being taken?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Harcourt)Occasional complaints are received from coloured and other persons employed in foreign territory, but I have no reason whatever to suppose that any state of affairs corresponding to that revealed by Sir Roger Casement's report exists in the case of any British company employing labour from British Colonies and Protectorates in foreign territory.
§ 3. Mr. NEEDHAMasked whether the Prime Minister of Persia has recently invited back to that country Saad-ed-Dowleh; and whether, in doing so, he acted on the advice of the British Minister at Teheran?
§ Sir E. GREYThe answer to the first question is in the affirmative, and the step was taken with the encouragement of the British Minister. I had reason to believe that Saad-ed-Dowleh's return might be of use in the present crisis and had instructed the British Minister accordingly. I gather that there is a tendency on the part of some people—I do not mean on the part of my hon. Friend—to confuse Saad-ed-Dowleh with Salar-ed-Dowleh or even with Shuja-ed-Dowleh. He is not the same person as either of these two nor, so far as I am aware, has he any connection with them, and I hope some attempt will be made to keep the names distinct.