§ 8. Mr. MALLALIEUasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what local Governments have been requested by him to supply a return giving the numbers of mui-tsai in their respective territories; when such requests were made; how many Governments have supplied the returns; and when he expects to receive the complete information upon this subject?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for DOMINION AFFAIRS (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald)I am replying on behalf of my right hon. Friend. The Governments in question were those of Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements, and certain Malay States. Hong Kong was asked in March, 1930, and the others in July, 1933. The Hong Kong returns have been supplied at six-monthly intervals beginning with June, 1930, and copies are in the Library. No returns have yet been received from Malaya, since in certain of the Malay States the registers were not closed until the end of 1933. It is expected that these figures will be available shortly.
§ Mr. MALLALIEUIn view of the length of time which has elapsed since this information was asked for, will my hon. Friend do something to expedite it?
§ Mr. MacDONALDThe answer made it clear that some of the registers were not completed until the end of 1933, so that there has not yet been time for the figures to be reported in London, and that is the cause of the delay.