§ THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGHMy Lords, I rise to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the regulations defining the terms and the conditions under which the indentured coolies in the Transvaal will be repatriated have been drafted, and when these will be laid before the House. Perhaps the noble Earl will allow me to remind him that in the Parliamentary Paper, Cd. 2026, it is laid down that every Chinese labourer who has signed the contract of service shall be carried from the port of embarkation in China to the port of debarkation in Natal in a ship whose master holds a certificate 134 from the official mentioned in the Regulations. Another clause in the Regulations lays down that every labourer on being repatriated to China shall be convoyed only in a ship the master of which is in possession of a certificate authorising him to carry labourers. The Ordinance, therefore, clearly contemplated that Chinese coolies should be carried in special ships. I do not think these ships can be great in number, and I should be glad if the noble Earl could inform the House whether the coolies under the new repatriation order will come under the terms of the old arrangement, or whether fresh arrangements will be made for them specially with regard to their conveyance on board ship back to China.
I see it is stated that the estimated cost of repatriation will be £17 10s. per head, and I should like to ask the noble Earl whether this amount will cover the cost of transporting the coolies from the mine to China, or only from the port of embarkation to the port of debarkation. It is stated in the notification addressed to the Chinese indentured labourers that a Chinaman will have to show that he has made an effort to earn money before the Government will be prepared to pay his passage home. Can the noble Earl tell me how much money a Chinaman will have to show himself possessed of before the superintendent can say he is qualified for a passage home, and, if his petition is granted, how much of the passage money will be paid by the coolie and by the British Government respectively?
The noble Earl has laid it down that penalties for the wilful deception of the Superintendent of Foreign Labour will be inflicted. Can we know whether a list of those penalties will be laid before Parliament, or whether they will be included in the repatriation orders which are to be posted in the mines of the Witwatersrand? If the noble Earl can give us any information on these points it would be a source of gratification. The noble Earl is aware that under the terms of the old Ordinance the Governor-General was entitled to draw up fresh Regulations. Can the noble Earl inform us whether the Government intend to exercise the right provided for in the Ordinance, of drawing up fresh Regulations to meet this particular repatriation order?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (The Earl of ELGIN)My Lords, the noble Duke has put to me several specific Questions which are not on the Paper, but I will endeavour to answer them as far as I can. He wishes to know whether the coolies are to be carried in special ships. I understand that those who will return to China under this particular provision will be repatriated in the same manner as the other coolies who have been repatriated hitherto. A very considerable number of coolies have already been repatriated. Up to January last 198 coolies had purchased their discharge, and the total number repatriated from all causes, including illness and bad character, was 1,956. I cannot tell the noble Duke under what particular Regulations the Governor-General has arranged for the repatriation of the coolies. I have no doubt that those repatriated under the new order will be sent back in ships similar to those hitherto utilised for the purpose.
With regard to the cost, I understand that £17 10s. is the full cost of taking the coolie home. I do not think it is limited to the port of embarkation. As to how much of that money will be contributed by the coolie, the noble Duke will see that that is one of a series of Questions I cannot possibly answer at the present moment. The position is this. We put a scheme before the High Commissioner early in the year. At the end of March the High Commissioner sent us certain proposals which were announced in the other House and which I think the noble Duke had before him, and in sending those proposals to us Lord Selborne asked us, if we accepted them as being an adequate performance of the pledges of the Government, to give him our full confidence in carrying out the details. We willingly accepted that condition. The High Commissioner, has, since then, drawn up a notification, which has been published in this country and which is now, I believe, posted in the mines, but, until that notification has been acted upon, and we are aware of the number of coolies that will come forward under it, and the conditions under which they come forward—such as the reasons for which they wish to be repatriated and the amount they may be able to contribute—I do not suppose the High Commissioner is in a position to give us 136 details of the regulations as to the further steps that he might propose to take in carrying out the whole scheme. His Majesty's Government are prepared to trust the High Commissioner in these respects, and I venture to hope that noble Lords opposite will not be behindhand in giving the same confidence to Lord Selborne.
§ House adjourned at five minutes before Seven o'clock, till Tomorrow, half-past Ten o'clock.