§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the terms of the Mandate to be assumed for the ex-German territories in South-West Africa contains a clause forbidding the imposition of forced labour on the natives excepting for works of public utility, and then only at an adequate wage; and whether it is intended to adopt this policy in all British Crown Colonies in Africa?
§ Lieut.-Colonel AMERYThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, I presume that "forced labour" in this connection does not include services which a native is, under native custom, obliged to perform. On this presumption the existing practice in the 1843W British Crown Colonies and Protectorates in Africa conforms to the principle laid down in the Mandate for South-West Africa.