§ 4.38 p.m.
§ Mr. DONNERI beg to move, in page 154, line 38, after "date," to insert:
not later than the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-six.The object of this Amendment is to fix a definite date for the Order-in-Council separating Aden from British India. I submit that the very reasons which have urged the Government to take this step of separating Aden from British India are reasons for accepting this Amendment. It is obviously desirable, once the decision has been taken, that it should be put into effect as soon as possible. The only reason why we have not proposed to insert words to the effect that it should come into force on the day on which this Bill becomes an Act is because we take into account the administrative difficulties, but if the Government consider that the proposed date is too early, perhaps they will suggest some alternative date, possibly 1st April next year. Clearly it is desirable that some date should be specified and that steps should be taken to see that this policy is translated into action and no allowed to remain as a. mere pious aspiration. I suggest that there would be some danger in that course. I do not know what is the policy of the Socialist party in this respect, but it is just conceivable that they might form a Government before this Order-in-Council is passed and the Socialist party can, I think, usually be trusted to take an anti-Imperial line. I suggest respectfully, therefore, that there is every reason to secure that this separation should take place by a given date.
§ 4.40 p.m.
§ Sir S. HOAREI cannot follow my hon. Friend into the remote and obscure future or prophesy what may or may not happen after some problematic Election. Let me, however, assure him that it is our intention, and I believe it is an intention shared by the hon. Member for Limehouse (Mr. Attlee) and the hon. 1013 Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Cocks), that Aden should be separated from India. It is further the intention of the Government to make the separation as soon as we can. It must take place before Federation. It is our intention if the administrative details can be arranged, and I see no reason why they should not be arranged, that it should take place at or about the time of the initiation of provincial autonomy. It is, however, impossible to fix a definite period in the Bill. Nobody can say exactly how long the arrangement of the administrative details is going to take, but, as I say, it is our intention to bring the change into operation at or about the same time as provincial autonomy.
§ 4.49 p.m.
§ Mr. ATTLEEI had never any doubt that Aden should be separated from India until the speech of the hon. Member for West Islington (Mr. Donner) but I gather that he is putting it forward as a part of some special Imperialistic policy. During these discussions I have always thought that the position was that Aden was not a part of India and therefore obviously ought to be separated from India. I suggest that the hon. Member by his remarks has done an extremely bad service by encouraging everybody in India to believe that the separation of Aden from India is due to some special policy on our part and is not being done merely for purposes of convenience and better government. In fact on this matter the hon. Member seems to be taking a sort of inverted Congress view.
§ Mr. DONNEROn the assurance of my right hon. Friend the Secretary for State as to his intention in this matter, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.