MANDATES

HC Deb 07 April 1921 vol 140 cc439-41

48. Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

asked the Lord Privy Seal when the mandate for East Africa will actually be laid upon the Table?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN (Leader of the House)

Before the mandate is laid, it will be necessary to communicate with the French Government, but every effort will be made to expedite the matter.

Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Home Secretary stated on the 7th March that this mandate would be laid in a few days?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

I was not aware that my right hon. Friend said within a few days, but I am quite ready to accept it from my hon. Friend. We will do our best to expedite the matter.

Lord R. CECIL

Will my right hon. Friend explain why it is necessary, in the case of a mandate which will only be executed by the British Government, to obtain the consent of anybody at all to lay it on the Table of this House, since the whole purpose of laying it on the Table of this House is to ascertain whether this House is ready to assume the responsibility which it is proposed to impose upon it by the terms of the mandate?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

As my Noble Friend knows, these mandates have been a matter of discussion. I am not prepared, without notice, to give the particular reasons which render it necessary. They must arise out of the negotiations.

Lord R. CECIL

In making these inquiries, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that this is not a case of an agreement between this country and another country, but the case of a suggestion by this country as to the terms on which it will be prepared to accept the Mandate?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

I do not wholly accept my Noble Friend's description. The terms of these Mandates have been a matter of negotiation between the principal Allied Powers, but if my Noble Friend wishes an answer to a specific question, which I am not able to give him to-day, if he will put it on the Paper, I will do my best to get an answer from the Foreign Office.

49. Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

asked the Lord Privy Seal when the Mandate for Mesopotamia will be submitted to Parliament for its definite approval, and in what manner he proposes that this shall be done?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

I will consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies as soon as he returns as to the manner and time at which the discussion promised by my predecessor, on the 23rd February, can best be afforded.

Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

Has the right hon. Gentleman noticed the statement of the Secretary of the League of Nations in the "Times" which blows the great theory of Mandates to smithereens, and whether, under those circumstances, he will consider, as appears to be possible, with the consent of the League of Nations, the submission of the Mandate to us before it is submitted to them for final consideration?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

Certainly I have noticed the statement of the Secretary of the League of Nations. I do not myself see anything inconsistent in that statement with the various statements made in this House by my predecessor. I cannot go further until I have been able to consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Churchill).

Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

Will the right hon. Gentleman consult the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who made a statement in the House of Lords diametrically opposed to that of the Secretary of the League of Nations?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

I will certainly consult my Noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKS

May I put down a question in a week's time?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

indicated assent.

77. Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether that section of the ex-German Cameroons for which Great Britain has been granted a mandate is to be administered separately or as part of Nigeria; and whether any administrative deficit in respect to this mandated territory will be defrayed by Great Britain or by Nigeria?

The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Amery)

It is proposed that the British sphere of the Cameroons should be administered as a part of Nigeria, and that any administrative deficit in respect of that sphere should be met from Nigerian funds.