§ 10. Mr. HOUSTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can state the daily wages and allowances paid to men in the Labour Battalions in France and Flanders; whether coloured men receive the same or less wages and allowances than white men; and, if the latter, what the difference is per day?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI am having a statement prepared, and hope to circulate it with the OFFICIAL REPORT at an early date.
§ The following is the Statement referred to by the Under-Secretary of State:
§ Statement comparing the v, ages and allowances of coloured men and white men in Labour Battalions in France:
§ Taking the normal rate of pay of the lowest rank, and including the average amount of separation allowance and the deferred pay issuable in some cases after return to country of origin, the comparison stands: 604
| Daily. | ||
| British private | 3 | 11 |
| Cape coloured boy, etc. | 2 | 6 |
| Chinese coolie | 1 | 4 |
| Egyptian labourer | 1 | 8 |
| Fijian | 1 | 0 |
| (Details of family allowance in Fiji not available.) | ||
| Indian labourer | 0 | 11 |
| Kaffir | 2 | 0 |
§ Mr. HOUSTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can state the number of coloured men in the Labour Battalions in France and Flanders, and how many of these are Africans?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI regret that this information cannot be given.