HC Deb 14 October 1941 vol 374 cc1255-6W
Mr. Creech Jones

asked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether Dr. Starum has yet been discharged from detention in Jamaica?

Mr. George Hall

My noble Friend has no information regarding the detention of any person named Starum in Jamaica. If, however, the reference is to Dr. Stamm, the Governor reported last August that it had been decided to release him.

Mr. Creech Jones

asked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether the Governor of Jamaica has produced for Mr. S. C. Marquis the precise grounds and exact evidence for his detention; whether this man has the opportunity of being heard under the amended regulations; and why the Governor failed to prosecute?

Mr. Hall

My Noble Friend understands that Mr. Marquis has been informed of the grounds on which the order for his detention was made. As regards the second part of the Question, Mr. Marquis will be able to make an objection to the new Advisory Committee which has been appointed by the Governor in accordance with the Regulation. The relevant Jamaica Defence Regulation has been amended so as to conform exactly with Regulation I8B of the United Kingdom Regulations, which provideinter alia that it shall be the duty of the chairman of the advisory committee to inform the objector of the grounds on which the order has been made against him and to furnish him with such particulars as are, in the opinion of the chairman, sufficient to enable him to present: his case. As regards the third part of the Question, Mr. Marquis was detained because the Governor considered that his detention under the Defence Regulations was more conducive to the public interest than his prosecution.