CO885-(20-21) — Page 459

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

J

C.O.885

32078

(No. 189.) SIR,

54

No. 37.

FIJI.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 3 October, 1911.)

[Copy to India Office, 5 March, 1912. L.F.]

[Answered by No, 38.]

J3

and

Governnient House, Suva, Fiji, 4th September, 1911. WITH reference to your telegram of the 26th ultimo and to your predecessor's despatch, No. 139, of 23rd July, 1910, I have the honour to forward herewith a comparative statement of informations laid by employers against indentured Indian immigrants under the Indian Immigration Ordinance for unlawful absence

desertion "

during the years 1908-1910, showing the result of prosecutions. A copy of a minute by the Agent-General of Immigration on the subject is also enclosed. 2. I regret the delay which has occurred in furnishing the return above referred to

I have, &c.,

Enclosure 1 in No. 37.

F. H. MAY.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT of Informations laid by Employers against indentured Indian immigrants under the Indian Immigration Ordinance for unlawful absence and desertion during the years 1908-1910, and result of prosecutions.

35

the returns required from the S.M.s giving the details asked for had not been supplied subsequent to 1908, I could not make out the return mentioned in his minute until the returns of informations, &c., for the Annual Report had been compiled.

I now enclose a comparative statement for the years 1908-1910, showing the number of Informations laid for " Unlawful absence "and" desertion," with analysis of result of proceedings and percentages for comparison.

The figures for 1908 are for all districts, but the details are partly incomplete, owing to some of the returns not being now available for reference. The totals, however, correspond with those of the Annual Report for 1908, Appendix G.

Unlawful Absence.--It will be noticed that the percentage of informations laid to total population has regularly and materially decreased since 1908.

Desertion. The actual number of informations laid in 1910 is slightly in excess

of the number (percentage) for 1908, but the percentage of conviction is much lower, viz., 82-42 per cent, as compared with 90 66 in 1908 and 9079 in 1909. Cases dismissed or withdrawn, were 8:31 per cent., and in 9'27 per cent. the immigrants convicted were cautioned and returned to the plantation without penalty.

26

Desertion." under the Ordinance, is the unlawful absence of an immigrant from the plantation for a period exceeding three days. It will be noticed that out of 239 convictions for desertions in 1910, only 19 were of old offenders, apparently sentenced to imprisonment without alternative penalty.

I regret that I am not in a position to give any particulars as to the circum- stances in any case which might have been regarded as exceptional by the convicting magistrate in regard to any of the years included in the return.

2 September, 1911.

32078

No. 38.

FIJI.

A. R. COATES.

21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

Convicted,

Indentured

adult

Year.

population during

Jear.

1909

11,988 240 Percentage \ 64-69 | 11-32

Unlawful Abeance.

Desertion.

Information

Inid.

Convicted.

Information laid.

|

1999

1908

11.978 376 35 Percentage 70-94 6-72

CG 53 530 12-3410.00

4:42

201-1

40 8 75·83 | 14·83 | 2·96

17 6:38

269

2.25

77.66

12

37 52 371 9.97.140?

3:20

90.68 178 7448

39 16:31

5

17 239 2:09 7.12

1.99

1910

76.01 12.673 274 29 Percentage 74-05 7.81

90.79

29

38 7-8410.27

370 1 2:90

239 76.36

190 26 706 8.31 9.27

81.89

82.42

Enclosure 2 in No. 37.

HONOURABLE COLONIAL SECRETARY,

29

1

313

2-47

ཱ།

A RETURN of the details required by the Secretary of State was prepared in 1909 by this Office, but was not forwarded, it appears.

This paper was handed to me by Mr. Stewart but not entered in.

I regret that

it has not been acknowledged before. I however informed Mr. Stewart that as

· 45060: not printed.

(No. 230.) SIR,

L.F.]

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.

[Copy to India Ógice, 5 March, 1912.

[Answered by No. 45.]

Downing Street, 18 October, 1911.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 189, of the 4th of September, transmitting certain statistics with regard to informations laid by employers against indentured Indian immigrants for unlawful absence and desertion during the

years 1908-1910.

2. In reply I have to point out that the return is not altogether satisfactory, since it does not show in how many cases in which a fine or imprisonment was imposed imprisonment was actually undergone; but in any case the figures appear to be unduly high, and I have to refer you to the decision contained in the seventh paragraph of my despatch, No. 91, of the 4th of May last, and repeated in my despatch, No. 209, of the 21st of September, that in cases of simple desertion and unlawful absence a system of fines recoverable by deduction from wages should be substituted for imprisonment.

3. This decision will render it necessary to repeal Section 3 of Ordinance No. 6 of 1907, and to modify the penalty for repeated desertion imposed by Section 4 of that Ordinance, by reducing the term of imprisonment to a period not exceeding (say) three months, and by giving the magistrate discretion to impose a fine în lieu of imprisonment.

4. These amendments should be included in the Ordinance framed to carry out the instructions contained in my despatches under reference.

I have, &c.,

• No. 37.

† No. 25.

33391

L. HARCOURT.

‡ No. 34.

D 4