§ Brigadier-General SURTEESasked the Secretary of State for India whether he can state the approximate number of Indian labourers working under the system of indenture in Crown Colonies and in the Dutch colony of Surinam; and whether His Majesty's Government propose to take any steps towards procuring the emancipation of these people?
§ Mr. FISHERThe numbers, according to the latest information received at the India Office, were as follow in the years indicated:—
- British Guiana, 1917, 4,818 out of a total Indian population of 138,140.
- Jamaica, 1919, 872 out of a total Indian population of 18,997.
- Trinidad, 1918, 3,359 out of a total Indian population of 129,251.
- Surinam, 1917, 3,217 out of a total Indian population of 33,330.
The system of emigration to these Colonies under contract was abolished by the Government of India on 12th March, 1917. All outstanding indentures in Fiji were cancelled with effect from 2nd January last, and it is understood that a similar step is being taken in British Guiana. The existence of indentured labour in the other Colonies will automatically cease with the expiry of the current periods of indenture.