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by Mr. Harcourt and the Government of Bengal, be afforded every opportunity of modifying the provisions of their respective labour laws, some of which, it would appear from Mr. A. de Boissière's Memorandum, are so seldom resorted to that they may safely be abrogated. We would therefore request Your Lordship that Messrs. McNeill and Chimmanlal, the officers selected for deputation to the Colonies may be instructed to report on this subject after consultation with the Colonial Governments. At the same time, we would ask that, in view both of official and non-official opinion in this country, Mr. Harcourt may be moved to inform these Governments definitely that it is our intention, after a reasonable period, sufficient to enable them to amend their labour laws, to frame a rule under the Indian Emigration Act requiring the attachment to agreements of a summary of the Immigration Laws in the vernacular, such as has been suggested by him.

The Most Honourable

The Marquess of Crewe, K.G.,

We have, &c.,

His Majesty's Secretary of State for India,

GUY FLEETWOOD WILSON, R. W. CARLYLE,

R. H. CRADDOCK.

No. 817, dated Ootacamund, the 6th July, 1912.

From the HONOURABLE MR. A. G. CARDEW, C.S.I., I.C.S., Acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, Public Department, to THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERN- MENT OF INDIA, Department of Commerce and Industry.

In reply to the letter from the Government of India, Department of Commerce and Industry, No. 3142—3545–62, dated the 6th May, 1912, I am directed to state that His Excellency the Governor in Council accepts the suggestion of the Government of India that intending emigrants, before the execution of their contracts, should be informed of the penalties which may be inflicted for violation of the provisions of the labour laws obtaining in the Colonies to which they are proceeding, and is satisfied that there is no difficulty in embodying these penalties in the terms of service and in the emigrants' agreements.

No. 3041-M., dated Ranchi, the 14th August, 1912.

From E. L. TANNER, Esq., I.C.S., Officiating Secretary to the Government of Bihar and Orissa, Municipal Department, to THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMent of India, Department of Commerce and Industry.

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 3542-35 15 -62, dated the 6th May, 1912, and its enclosures, in which the opinion of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has been requested as to the advisability of informing intending emigrants, before embarkation, of the liabilities which they incur in agreeing to emigrate, and also whether it would be feasible to embody in the terms of service or agreement a statement of the penal provisions of the labour law of the Colony to which the emigrant is proceeding.

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2. I am to say that His Honour in Council sees no objection to the proposals and would suggest that the emigrant should at the same time be furnished with a summary his rights under the agreement, of the measures taken for his protection, and of the penalties, if any, prescribed for offences committed by his employer. I am to add that, in His Honour's opinion, the adoption of these measures would not materially affect either the labourers or their employers, since, when emigrants are recruited through friends, as generally happens, they know exactly what the actual conditions of service are, while if they have no extraneous means of knowledge, it is doubtful whether any officer would be able to bring their rights an | liabilities home to them.

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No. 1707-T.G., dated Darjeeling, the 18th September 1912.

From J. H. KERR, ESQ., C.I.E., L.C.S.,. Secretary to the Government of Bengal,

General Department, to THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT Department of Commerce and Industry.

OF INDIA,

I am directed to refer to your letter No. 3542-3545-62, dated 6th May, 1912, on the subject of the terms of service offered to intending emigrants under the Indian Emigration Act XVII of 1908 and the form of agreement executed by such emigrants. The Government of India point out that the law does not require the insertion in the terms of service or in the agreement of the penal liabilities imposed by the special labour laws under which emigrants must live in the Colonies, and state that it has accordingly been argued that emigrants are not aware, before emigration, of all the liabilities which they incur in agreeing to emigrate, and that if it were explained to them that they would be placed in the Colonies, not under the ordinary civil law for the fulfilment of contracts, but under a special penal law, rendering them liable to imprisonment with hard labour, many of them would be deterred from emigrating. The Government of India are inclined to the opinion that emigrants may with advantage be informed of the penalties which may be inflicted for violation of the provisions of the labour laws, and that, if possible, these penalties should be inserted in the terms of service and in the agreement. They enquire whether the Governor in Council is aware of any objections to informing intending emigrants of these penal provisions before the execution of their contracts, and whether it would be feasible to embody them in the terms of service and in the agreement.

2. In reply, I am to say that the Governor in Council considers that no valid objection can be taken to the explanation to intending emigrants of the penal provisions of the special laws applicable to indentured labourers in the Colonies. I am, however, to submit, for the consideration of the Government of India, a copy of a letter from the Protector of Emigrants, Calcutta, and its enclosures, and to say that the Governor in Council agrees generally with Dr. Banks that, in existing circumstances, the probable result of such action would be seriously to discourage Colonial emigration from India, if not to put a stop to it altogether. The Governor in Council feels that the difficulties of meeting the objections which have been raised to the present system are so serious that the result alluded to above must be faced. At the same time, His Excellency in Council is reluctant to take action forthwith which might abruptly stop the system of indentured emigration, without allowing time for a full consideration of the effect which a withdrawal of the present facilities for emigration might have on the rural population of those districts in India from which such emigration mainly takes place. It would appear fron the reports of the Emigration Agents who were consulted by Dr. Banks that a number of the special penal provisions at present in force are seldom if ever used, and His Excellency in Council is disposed to think that it should be possible, if not to abolish these penal provisions entirely, to reduce them to such small dimensions that their inclusion in the terms of agreement, and their explanation to intending emigrants, would not operate as any serious deterrent to emigration The Governor in Council consequently considers that the Colonies should be given an opportunity of modifying or abrogating the special provisions to which exception has been taken, before the proposal to explain them to intending emigrants is enforced. He would recommend that the views of the emigration officers as to the probable effect, in the existing state of the Colonial labour laws, of including the penal provisions in the agreements of emigrants should be laid before the Colonial authorities, who should at the same time be informed that it is the intention of the Government of India, after a reasonable period (which should be fixed so as to give the Colonial authorities a full opportunity of amending their labour laws), to frame a rule under the Indian Emigration Act, requiring any special penal provisions applicable to indentured labour in the Colonies to be entered in the terms of service and the agreements of intending emigrants.

3. In the view taken of the case by the Governor in Council, he does not consider it necessary at the present stage to draft any notification on the subject under section 81 of the Emigration Act.