be supplied with copies of the handbook? serving on the 31st March last, and how many of them have since enlisted in the Territorial Army.

public bodies the difficulty can be over

come.

Law of Imprisonment in Natal. MR. BELLOC (Salford, S.): I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the law and practice of Natal permit imprisonment upon a general warrant containing no specific charge; and, if so, what other Colonies, if any, have effected this fundamental change in English law.

THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Colonel SEELY, Liverpool, Abercromby): The law and practice of Natal does not, as far as I am aware, permit of imprisonment on general

COLONEL SEELY: No definite proposal of the kind indicated by my hon. friend has at present come before the Secretary of State.

National Sleeping Sickness Bureau.

*MR. REES: I beg to ask the UnderSecretary of State for the Colonies whether the Government has decided to establish a national sleeping sickness bureau, with headquarters in London; whether a Convention between Great Britain and Germany for the prevention of the spread of this malady is contemHouse any information on this subject. plated; and whether he can give the

COLONEL SEELY: The Answer to the first two portions of my hon. friend's Question is in the affirmative. The Secretary of State hopes to be in a position to publish detailed information regarding the bureau shortly.

Expropriation of Lagos Natives.

MR. CATHCART WASON (Orkney and Shetland): I beg to ask the UnderSecretary of State for the Colonies if he tion of natives at Lagos is viewed by the is aware that the compulsory exproprianative population with alarm; and if, in order to allay any feeling of injustice that may exist, instructions will be given. that land elsewhere will be granted to the expropriated natives.

COLONEL SEELY: I am in a position. to inform my hon. friend that the feelings of the natives on this question have been exaggerated. The number affected is about 350, and liberal compensation for expropriation is being awarded to them. It is undoubtedly the policy of the Governor to meet the point raised by the hon. Member. There are large unoccupied areas in the neighbourhood of the town. Part of the land is already marked out into building sites and roads, and further land will be similarly marked out as soon as there is evidence of pressure of population.

Abeokuta Treaty.

MR. REES: I beg to ask the UnderSecretary of State for the Colonies whether the Government has information MR. CATHCART WASON: I beg to to the effect that the Government of ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Canada proposes to provide for the control Colonies if his attention has been called of immigration under an amended regula- | tion by reciprocal action between the country of citizenship and the country of destination.

to the treaty of friendship and commerce made at Abeokuta between His Majesty's Government and the Alake on the 18th January, 1893, and also to the letters of

the 29th June and 29th July, 1903, between the Alake and Sir W. M'Gregor on the question of tolls; and whether, in view of the fact that the Alake and his people consider the maintenance of the said tolls as essential to their independence, the Government will view with displeasure any attempts to abolish them.

COLONEL SEELY: My attention has been called to the treaty and letters referred to. His Majesty's Government would be glad, in the interests of trade, to see the tolls abolished, but they could not be abolished except by the substitu tion of some other arrangement which would provide the funds required for the government of the town and district, and would be acceptable to the native chiefs.

the

White Labour in the Transvaal Mines. MR. FELL: I beg to ask Under-Secretary of State for the Colon

MR. FELL: Were not the unemployed ies if he can give any particulars who were engaged in this attempt of the recent experiment to introduce miners? white labour into the Transvaal mines; and if he has any official information showing that of forty-five men engaged not one would continue work on the second day.

COLONEL SEELY: The Secretary of State has learnt from Lord Selborne,

writing under date the 13th of April, that the result of the experiment has not been altogether satisfactory. A very large proportion of the men refused to undertake the work offered to them on the mines, and made it a grievance that they should be called upon to do work of the kind ordinarily done by Kaffirs, at the rate of pay ordinarily given to Kaffirs. The statement issued on 6th

April by the Rand Unemployment Committee, who made the arrangements, shows that of the 395 men whom seventeen mines had agreed to take on 1st April, only 121 were still at work at the date of the last returns from the mines. The committee are not entirely discouraged by the first results of the employment of unskilled labour on the mines, yet they are disappointed that so large a proportion of the men sent to the mines should have either failed to appear or left the properties without giving the work a trial.

MR. FELL: Will Papers be laid, and will they show the rate of pay to the

COLONEL SEELY: Not necessarily; a great many were not, for complaint was made that they could not earn as much by piece-work because they had no experience in the work.

hon. Gentleman give to the House the exact figures relating to the wages of the miners?

SIR GILBERT PARKER: Will the

COLONEL SEELY said that, if the hon. Gentleman would put down a Question, he would see whether he could do so.

Cakijana.

MR. G. GREENWOOD (Peterborough): I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether an application was made to the Supreme Court of Natal on behalf of the Zulu chief, Cakijana, for a habeas corpus to remove him from the jurisdiction of martial law to the jurisdiction of the Courts of Natal, where he surrendered; and what was the result of the application.

State is aware that such an application COLONEL SEELY: The Secretary of was made, and it would appear from Press telegrams to have been successful. The Governor has been requested to telegraph a summary of the decision of

Carmarthen Prison.

prisoners to Swansea who are committed for trial from parts of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, and also the additional cost to the ratepayers.

MR. GLADSTONE: I have received two communications to the effect indicated. The use of Carmarthen prison for the detention of female prisoners is found to be inconvenient and costly, and these objections will be obviated by the new arrangement which will save money to the taxpayers and throw no burden upon local rates, all expenses of the conveyance of prisoners being charged to Imperial funds. If the new arrangement is found to cause any substantial hardship to prisoners it can be reconsidered, but in view of the very small number of female prisoners received at Carmarthen from Cardiganshire and Carmarthen, I do not think this will be the case.

MR. GLADSTONE: I have nominated two assistants to inspectorships in connection with the scheme for the augmentation of the staff. appointed under the special powers in They have been

Clause 7 of the Order in Council of 4th June, 1870, after having passed a qualifying examination in the subjects of factory law and sanitary science; and will not be required to sit for the ordinary examination.

MR. RAMSAY MACDONALD: Were

MR. LLOYD MORGAN (Carmarthenshire, W.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any communications from justices at quarter sessions with regard to a proposed order to dispense with female quarters at His these two assistants men who passed Majesty's prison, Carmarthen; whether the examination some time ago? Is it is proposed to send in future all female it the fact that for the purpose of the prisoners from the three western counties increase of the staff no further nominations of South Wales to Swansea instead of are to be given? keeping them at Carmarthen prison; and whether, before making the order, he will consider the hardship which the proposed change would entail of sending

MR. GLADSTONE: They are the two who competed some time ago, and there are no further nominations.