§ MR. CATHCART WASON (Orkney and Shetland)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the desirability of continuity of policy and administration in our West African Colonies, His Majesty's Government will take into consideration the advisability of appointing a West African Council principally composed of distinguished officials, retired or otherwise, to confer with the Colonial Office.
§ MR. CHURCHILLThe appointment of such a committee has been suggested from time to time; but the Secretary of State does not feel convinced that it is necessary. The joint West African Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Manchester, Liverpool, and London, which meets monthly at the Colonial Office affords convenient opportunities for the free discussion of commercial questions between the representatives of commercial interests, and those of the Colonial Office. I should deprecate in the present state of Nigerian development the creation of more elaborate or comprehensive machinery.