§ 17. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the proposed directorate of Alluvial Diamonds (Gold Coast), Limited, and the presence on the board of two ex-governors and three ex-officials; and whether, seeing that this is not in accordance with Regulations based on the revised pensions scale, he will advise the governor of the Gold Coast that no concession should be granted to the company without receiving his prior sanction?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI have seen the prospectus of this company. Three of the proposed directors are ex-officials and of these two are ex-governors. Only one of them, however, draws a pension from Gold Coast funds and he has already asked the governor for the necessary permission under the Pensions Law.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODAre we to understand from this that the Colonial Office approve of these ex-governors and ex-officials who have direct administration over these native territories being 960 directors of a company which has procured concessions in those territories?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORENo; the hon. Gentleman is putting a very bad construction upon this. As a matter of fact, one of the governors who is to be a director has never served in the Gold Coast. The second of the officers concerned, who was an inspector of mines, resigned and has received no pension, and therefore we have no control over him in any way. As regards the third, the governor was asking permission under the Pensions Law. He was Governor of Gambia, although he had previously served in the Northern territories and the Gold Coast. I do not think it is for me to express approval or disapproval.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODThe right hon. Gentleman gave me a distinct answer in the House not so long ago that governors of territories were given a higher pension in order that they might not take directorships of companies on their retirement. How does this action compare with that promise?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI am afraid that they do not get a higher pension. In fact, in most cases they get a lower pension than if they had never been governors. In many cases men in the Colonial service who have never been governors get a higher pension than governors.
§ Mr. WARDLAW-MILNEMay I ask whether there is anything in the suggestion that ex-governors of any part of His Majesty's Dominions are supposed not to become directors of companies which may be connected with these Dominions? If so, it is very desirable that that impression should be corrected at once. I do not see any reason why an ex-governor should not be a director of any company.
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREIt is entirely a question within the provisions of the Pensions Law. In many Colonies there is a provision under the Pensions Law that applies to ex-governors and other Colonial civil servants that they shall not, without prior consultation and approval, become directors of companies in the territory in which they have served. That is part of the rule, but otherwise, ex-governors and other ex-civil servants are free to become directors of what companies they like.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODIs the hon. Gentleman the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Wardlaw-Milne) right, or am I right as to the desires of the Colonial Office in this matter? Do they or do they not approve of ex-governors of territories taking directorships of companies which deal with those territories in which they served?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREIt is not really a question of approval or disapproval.
§ Mr. HARRISIs it not undesirable that officials should use the information they gained in their official capacity afterwards to make profit for themselves?