COOLIES FROM FIJI.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1846, 4 September 1913, Page 4

COOLIES FROM FIJI.

$ IMMIGRATION TO BE RESTRICTED. The alleged influx of Indian coolies into New Zealand, about which there has been some concern expressed by members of Parliament recently, was tho subject matter of a question by Mr, J. A. \oullg, M.P., for Waikato, which the Prime Minister answered yesterday. • Mr. Young asked whether tho Government will enter into immediate ncgotia--1 tions, through tho imperial authorities, ' with the Government ol Fiji, with a* ■ view to seeing if it would not bo pos- ■ siblo to compel those persons and cor- ' porations who liavo been responsible for tho importation of Hindu coolies into 1 tlio Islands under tho authority of tlio 1 Fijian Government to return them to 1 India at the completion of their labour 1 contracts, so as to chock in somo mca- ; sure, if not altogether abolish, tho migration of coolies from I'iji to Now ' Zealand. ; Tho Primo Minister replied: 1A Bill \ to amend tho Immigration Restrictions 1 Act is at present in preparation, and ' by its provisions it is intended to re- ; strict,' as. far as possible, the lmmigra- ! tion of Hindu coolies to this country, Tho matter was . brought under the notice of the Under-Secretary of Stato for tho Colonies during bis recent visit to , New Zealand. _______ " It is already the general prnctico, tlio 1 Primo Minister told Mr. Vcitcli m tho House of Representatives yesterday, of ' tHie Departments concerned to employ their workers under conditions' at least equivalent to those fixed by awards of tlio Court of Arbitration. If the honour--1 able memfcr -would intimatel any instance whero this practice did 110 ft awl>ear to bo followed, intimites would bo made into the matter. Replying to a question by Mr. A. M. Myers'in tho'House of Representatives, the Minister for Defence (tho Hon. J. Allen) stated that tbo only permanent member of the Comniittco of Initial Defence was the British Prime Minister, who invited others to attend tbo committee as ho thought lit. The New Zealand Government bad, therefore, no power to appoint a permanent representative 011 the Committee of Imperial Defoneo. ______