§ 16. Mr. MORELasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the recent declaration of His Majesty's Government that the administration of the Colony of Kenya shall be based upon the principle of trusteeship for the native population, he will consider the repeal of the Registration of Labourers Act, which requires of the adult male inhabitants of the Colony the possession of identification papers, failure to carry which by day or by night is treated as a crime involving arrest and imprisonment and which, the chief Native Commissioner of the Colony has reported, is detested by the native population; will he take steps to rescind the Clause in the Masters and Servants Ordinance, which makes desertion from the European planter or farmer a criminal offence cognisable by the police; will he take steps to review the incidence of direct taxation upon the native population, which in effect involves the able-bodied male population in work upon European farms and plantations for three months out of the year; and will he also take steps to secure that the principle be adopted that at least one-fifth of the direct taxes paid by the natives shall be returned to them in technical education, 1008 medical service, and agricultural instruction?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREThe Governor will be consulted on the first two points. As regards the third part of the question, I cannot accept the suggestion that a native cannot pay his tax by working on his own account, nor do I think that the direct taxation of the natives is necessarily excessive. I should, however, be glad if, consistently with the general financial position of the Colony, a larger proportion of revenue could be devoted to services for the direct benefit of the native. The matter will not be lost sigh, of, but I do not think that any fixed percentage can be laid down.