§ 42. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of immigrants from Hong Kong that have been admitted to North Borneo during the years 1956 and 1958, respectively; and if he will recommend to the Government of North Borneo that the number should be increased in view of the overpopulation in Hong Kong and shortage of population and labour in North Borneo.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydA total of 482 Chinese from Hong Kong were admitted for limited periods to North Borneo in 1956 and 670 in 1957. In the first quarter 1414 of 1958, 118 workers on contract left Hong Kong for North Borneo. Agreement was recently reached between the Governments concerned on a scheme for the admission to North Borneo as permanent residents of a limited number of Hong Kong Chinese.
§ Mr. RankinIn view of the great number of unemployed in Hong Kong and the need for workers in North Borneo, can the Colonial Secretary give us some idea of what "limited" means? What numbers will be admitted from year to year?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydUp to 700 families over a period of three years.