§ Mr. WALLHEADasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received a report from the Immigration Agent-General of British Guiana with regard to wages and conditions of work on the sugar plantations of that Colony; and, if so, will he inform the House what are the present average weekly wages of Indian immigrants in that Colony as compared with the cost of living?
§ Mr. AMERYThe latest report of the Immigration Agent-General of British Guiana which I have received is for the year 1924. According to this report the average daily earnings of a shovelman and a male weeder on a sugar estate were 51 cents and 44 cents, respectively, as compared with a cost of living, including food, clothing and implements, of $2.23 a week, or the equivalent of five days' earnings at 45 cents a day. Most of the labourers supplement their earnings by work on their own plots.