95. Colonel BURNasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many German missionaries have been permitted to remain in our Overseas Dominions; and will he take immediate steps to have them deported to their own country?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Lieutenant-Colonel AmeryAs a result of inquiries instituted in January of last year, it was ascertained that there were 138 such missionaries, of whom eighty-five, although technically German subjects, were natives of Alsace-Lorraine, and one Pole, in the Colonies and Protectorates. I have no exact total for the self-governing Dominions. The responsibility for the expulsion or internment of German missionaries from these territories rests in the first place with the various oversea Governments, who possess the necessary legislation for this purpose and may be relied upon to employ it in the case of any German missionary whose residence in the territory is considered to be undesirable in the public interest.
Colonel BURNWill my hon. Friend put pressure on the Governments of the Overseas Dominions to see that these missionaries, because they are really German spies, are repatriated? It is a perfect disgrace!
§ Lieutenant-Colonel AMERYWe have already indicated our own views to those Governments on the subject.