asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he has taken, or intends to take, to secure that the wages and conditions of labour in the Colonial Empire shall not be adversely affected through the incidence of the war; and whether increased recruitment of natives for His Majesty's Army is taking place?

Mr. M. MacDonald:

Considerable progress has been made in recent years with the enactment of labour legislation in the Colonial Empire and with the establishment of labour departments and inspectorates charged with the supervision of labour conditions and the welfare of the workers. Progress will be continued along these lines so far as circumstances permit. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer to the answer which I gave on 19th October to a question by the hon. Member for North Islington (Dr. Guest), of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

Will the more comprehensive statement pay special reference to the questions of wages and working conditions?

Mr. MacDonald:

In any further statement I will certainly be willing to expand on the present answer.