§ Mr. SNELLasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received a petition addressed to him on 18th September, on behalf of the 2636W Buganda Kingdom Batake Community, in the Uganda Protectorate, and signed by numerous elders, heads and sub-heads of clans and members of the Batake community; whether he has replied to the petition, if received; and will he cause an inquiry to be made into the grievances alleged in the petition?
§ Mr. AMERYAfter careful examination of the petition referred to, I am satisfied that there are no grounds for questioning the policy of the Government of Uganda in the matters to which it relates, and that there is no necessity for the holding of an inquiry as suggested in the petition. The Governor of Uganda is being asked to convey a reply in this sense to the petitioners on my behalf. I may add that the Governor has received and forwarded to me a letter from the Kabaka of Buganda dissociating himself from the petition which was made without his consent or prior knowledge, and also letters from several recognised heads of clans in Buganda indicating that signatories to the petition do not in fact represent the clans on whose behalf they purport to have signed.