§ 70. Mr. AMMONasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the decision to introduce into Kenya Colony a system of registration for all coloured domestic servants, and 1799 to include in this the condition that all domestic servants shall have their fingerprints taken by the police of the Colony before they are engaged, has been approved?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)A Bill has been introduced into the Legislative Council to provide for the registration of native domestic servants. Under the Bill a registrar of domestic servants would be appointed in each registration district who would be required to take the finger-prints of all persons before being registered as servants. It was decided to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the Legislative Council.
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREIt is not yet through the local Legislature; it has been referred to a Select Committee where all the relevant evidence will be taken.
Mr. THOMASMay I ask whether the Government will express their strong disapproval of this form of registration, whatever the result of the Select Committee's investigation may be?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORENo. I certainly cannot do that; in fact, personally I take the view that registration probably is a very desirable thing in the interest of the native domestic servant, so that people should not pose as domestic servants with forged and misappropriated testimonials, thereby affecting honest servants.
§ Mr. AMMONThe effect of the Government's answer is that they consider all natives either prisoners or slaves?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORECertainly not. The object of this Bill is to protect native servants who are regularly employed as servants from those people who pose as domestic servants with forged papers.
Mr. THOMASIs there no other means of protecting these people against this fraud other than a system of finger prints, which is always associated with criminal activity?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI must beg leave to contradict that. This system has never been associated with criminal proceedings as it is in this country, never; and almost universally it has been found the only means of identification. The finger prints of thousands of natives are taken in every colony in Africa and used as a means of identification, and no suggestion of any criminal taint has ever been made before.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODIs there anyone on this Select Committee who can be said to represent the interests of the natives?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI have no idea how the Select Committee has been formed, but I will inquire.
§ Sir H. BRITTAINHas not the method of taking finger prints been used by several South American Republics for some time in connection with passports?
§ Mr. THURTLEHas the Under-Secretary never heard of the art of photography? Why cannot these servants be photographed?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORECertainly, and if they had passports to enable them to come out of the country they would be photographed. The hon. Member has been in Africa and seen some thousands of natives, and I do not believe he would be able to identify any one by means of a photograph. Certainly, I have never been able to do so.