66. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement regarding the proposals for promoting non-native settlement in Tanganyika; and whether any steps are being taken to implement the Tanganyika Development Report of 1940.
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Colonel Stanley)With my hon. Friend's permission I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement made by the Governor of Tanganyika on the subject of non-native settlement, in his address to the Legislative Council on 7th December. As regards the second part of the Question, the Post-War Planning Committee in Tanganyika is now engaged in framing a comprehensive development programme, with the Development Report of 1940 as a basis in so far as it is applicable in the circumstances of to-day.
§ Following is the statement:
§ In December, 1938, Sir Mark Young, in a statement before the Legislative Council, laid down certain principles which guided the policy of the Government as regards the expansion of non-native settlement. As I have already stated on a previous occasion, these principles continue to be the accepted policy of this Government. They provide that within the limits necessarily imposed by factors such as the available land and labour supply, the encouragement of non-native settlement should be regarded as an integral part of the plans for advancement of the general prosperity of the country, subject always to the condition that the kind of settlement in view is such as to give a reasonable assurance of being economically successful and of contributing to the general development of the Territory. The Central Development Committee, reporting in 1940, accepted non-native settlement as an essential feature in the consideration of the wide schemes of development put forward in their report. What that Committee had in mind, to use their own words, was "the encouragement of settlement by non-natives who are prepared to accept the general policy of steady advancement of the standard of living of all inhabitants, not only their own." It is the view of the Government that successful settlement 1781 by non-natives on these lines would provide one of the most potent influences in helping to raise the standards of African life. It goes without saying that all plans for the expansion of non-native settlement must be conditioned by a scrupulous regard for the rights and interests and the future needs of the African population and must make due provision for the potential development of possible new types of African Land Settlement.
§ War conditions have prevented progress in the pursuance of this policy for the past five years, but, with the approaching termination of the war in Europe, the measures which should be taken to investigate further the possibilities of settlement of this kind have now come under review. The possibilities of success in non-native settlement must clearly depend to a considerable extent on post-war conditions, all of which cannot yet be clearly foreseen; many of them will be affected by factors lying outside the scope of local action. It is apparent, however, that whatever these conditions may be, preliminary steps should now be taken to set up an organisation in this country which will make the fulfilment of this policy possible as soon as peace returns.
§ The Post-War Planning Committee has recommended the setting up of a Land Settlement Board and the appointment of a Land Settlement Officer, and steps are now being taken to give effect to these recommendations. A Land Settlement Officer has actually been appointed. Furthermore, sub-committees of the Post-War Planning Committee have been at work in the areas most likely to be affected and have been asked to investigate and report on the availability of suitable land for non-native settlement and to give such details as are possible as to the areas available, the nature of the country, water supplies, accessibility to markets and other factors affecting the suitability of the land for settlement. They have also been asked to report on the availability of land for special types of native settlement. These enquiries are not yet complete. They will be co-ordinated and continued by the Land Settlement Board whose first task will be to assess the suitability of the land available for the purpose in view, within economic range of the main transport system of such extensions of that system as may be found feasible, and to report on the conditions 1782 under which it may be hoped that such settlement could be established with a good prospect of success as a contribution to the economic development of the country. The Board would also be asked to report on the number of persons for whom accommodation could be found in the available areas.
§ A good prospect of economic success and of a development which will contribute to the general prosperity and welfare of the Territory are essential conditions in the fulfilment of this policy and it is apparent that the expansion of non-native settlement on sound lines must be gradual. Any attempt to force the pace regardless of the availability of markets, labour supplies and other conditions which together make up what might be termed, in this connection, the absorptive capacity of the country, would involve the grave risk of economic failure which would be disastrous to the future of the Territory. It must also be clearly understood that, while the Government would be justified in providing reasonable initial assistance to settlers, particularly so as to ensure the admission of suitable settlers who might not otherwise be possessed of sufficient capital there could not be any question in Tanganyika of continued subsidisation of any non-native settlement which experience proved to be uneconomic.