§ 80. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Indian men and women are at present working as indentured labourers in Fiji, and what is the proportion of men to women; and whether the Government has yet done anything to remedy the conditions of the indentured labourers on the lines of the recommendations in Miss Garham's Report last year?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Lieut.-Colonel Amery)There are no Indians now working as indentured labourers in Fiji. The principal recommendation in Miss Garham's Report, namely the cancellation of all indentures, was carried out on 1st January. An unofficial deputation from Fiji is now in India discussing the possibilities of Indian free emigration to Fiji with the Government of India and representatives of Indian public opinion, and I hope the result of their efforts may be to bring about that more normal pro- 1496 portion between the sexes which was the second point insisted on in Miss Garham's Report. The Colonial Government has already made some progress with the educational and social reforms for the Indian population suggested in the Report, and will, I trust, continue to do so actively, in so far as they are applicable to the changed conditions.