§ 51. Mr. Palingasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs how many East Indians are resident in British Guiana; how many of these are unemployed; and what measures are taken to relieve those who are destitute?
Mr. M. MacDonaldThe total number of East Indians resident in British Guiana is 142,978. My Noble Friend understands that there is very little actual unemployment among East Indians, though there has been in some cases curtailment in the number of days per week when employment is available. As regards the last part of the question, destitute East Indians are given poor relief in the same manner as the rest of the community.
§ 52. Mr. Palingasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs how many estates have been rendered derelict in the last ten years in British Guiana; and what acreage such estates represent?
Mr. MacDonaldAccording to information which my Noble Friend has obtained from the Governor of British Guiana, five sugar estates of a total acreage of 6,579 have gone out of cultivation since 1928. At the time of the abandonment of these estates only 1,381 acres were actually in cultivation.
§ 53. Mr. Palingasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what is his attitude towards the proposal made by the Government of India to appoint an agent or commissioner to represent the special interests of the East Indian population in British Guiana?
Mr. MacDonaldMy Noble Friend has not received any formal proposal on this subject from the Government of India: nor, as indicated in his reply on 14th February to a question by the hon. Member for Shipley (Mr. Creech Jones), has he received any representations from the Indian community in British Guiana on the subject.