§ 66. Captain GARRO-JONESasked the Home Secretary under what statutory or other authority he refused leave to land, and subsequently sent back to West Africa, the British seaman John Zarlia; whether he was aware when the order was made that this man has a wife and family in Liverpool; and whether he will now allow this man to return to England, where he has been domiciled for 10 years, to maintain his family?
§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSThis man was dealt with under the Aliens Order, 1920, which provides that leave shall not be given to an alien to land in the United Kingdom unless he is in a position to support himself and his dependants, and that an alien to whom leave to land has been refused shall be removed from the United Kingdom by the master of the ship in which he arrived or, if directions for the purpose are given by the Secretary of State or an immigration officer, by the owner or agents of that ship. As I informed the hon. Member on Monday last there was no evidence that the man was not an alien and I have ascertained that he had been treated as an alien throughout the period of his employment with Messrs. Elder Dempster. I see no reason to take any steps to facilitiate his return to this country. I am informed that there is no prospect that he would be able to contribute to the support of his wife and child here.
§ Captain GARRO-JONESIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this man is not an alien and that he was repatriated to a British dependency? If he is an alien, why was he sent back to a British dependency? What is his wife and family to do in England, where he has been domiciled for 10 years?
§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSThe hon. and gallant Member must not make statements unless he is prepared to prove them. The information of my Department at Liverpool is that there is no evidence of any kind that he is a British subject. He has been treated in the course of his employment by the firm, for many years, as an alien, and he has not attempted to establish his right to be a British subject. When he was told by Messrs. Elder Dempster and Company that they did not want him any more in their businesss and that he must go back to West Africa, he did not suggest that he was a British subject.
§ Captain GARRO-JONESIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that many of these coloured seamen who are British subjects are not able coherently to state their case themselves, and are they not entitled to some protection? Is it not a fact that this man was repatriated to a British dependency? Is not, that prima facie evidence that he is a British subject?