Mr. SHIRLEY BENNasked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he will inform the House how many Indians are indentured annually in Dutch Guiana; under which law they are indentured; and what provision is made for their return to India at the termination of the indenture?
§ Mr. CHARLES ROBERTSThe number varies from year to year: in 1912 it was 1,204. The conditions of indenture and repatriation are laid down by the Convention of 1872, which the hon. Member will find in Parliamentary Paper, C 473, of that year. At the end of five years' indenture every Indian who was not less than ten years old at the time of leaving India is entitled to a return passage at the expense of the Netherlands Government.
Mr. SHIRLEY BENNasked the Under-Secretary of State for India where the 4,669 Indians indentured in Dutch Guiana are located; and if he will inform the House who, on behalf of the British Government, is responsible for seeing that the indentures are property carried out?
§ Mr. C. ROBERTSThey are settled on various estates and plantations to which they are allotted by the Netherlands-Colonial authorities, but may not be employed in the Gold or Balata regions. His Majesty's Consul at Paramairbo is responsible for watching over their interests, and reports constantly to the Foreign Office.