§ 34. Mr. CECIL WILSONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, seeing that powers have been conferred on administrative officers in Tanganyika mandated territory to inflict up to 10 strokes of the whip for the contravention of any order or direction by the official himself, that this matter was discussed at the sitting of the Permanent Mandates Commission held at Geneva, on 1st July last, and that Sir Frederick Lugard characterised these powers as unusual, whether His Majesty's Government is prepared to make it clear that no such whipping should take place without charge and sentence before a competent Court?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREThe matter discussed by the Permanent Mandates Commission was the Native Authority Ordinance which, among other things, provides that certain punishments, including a maximum of 10 strokes, may be inflicted by a competent Court upon conviction for refusal to obey any regulation, order or direction lawfully made under the Ordinance. The present circumstances of the territory make it inevitable that in some cases the Court can only be that held by the administrative officer in his capacity as magistrate, but he is bound in every such case to follow proper judicial procedure in trying the accused. From my personal knowledge of the character of administrative officers in the territory, I can assure the hon. Member that the powers entrusted to them are not abused.