CLAUSE 4.—(Subjects by descent.) (Hansard, 13 July 1948)

§ Mr. Renton

During the Second Reading Debate I asked the Government how Clause 4 (1, b) would be applied in regard to those British subjects or Commonwealth citizens who are not resident within the Commonwealth but in foreign countries outside, and I described in some detail the various categories of such British subjects or Commonwealth citizens in Egypt. There are, of course, other important communities one could take, for instance, in Portugal. Without going into the matter in any great detail again, as I recollect that there were several Members on the Government Front Bench present when I was speaking, I should like to ask whoever is to reply what the policy will be in regard to two types of people in Egypt, for example. The first type are the British persons of the second or third generation whose connections are perhaps beginning to get a little bit away from official British recognition, but to whom, because 1126 of their services during the war, as far as the present generation is concerned, we owe it to recognise them as British subjects. With that in view, may I ask what is to be the policy of the Government in exercising the discretion given by the words "with permission of the Secretary of State"?

The second category of persons I mentioned on the previous occasion are those people who are British only on a technical view of the law, those people whose ancestors at some time in the past have in some obscure and technical way acquired British nationality and who, except for the fact that they go to the British Consulate to register and sign on as British, have no justification for continuing to be called British. I described them on the previous occasion as "Don Pacificos," and not all Don Pacificos are worthy of being English, as the Home Secretary mentioned during the Second Reading Debate. If we are told that a result of this Clause will be to give the right to such people and all their descendants in perpetuity to be British subjects, I think we shall require some justification for it. The passing of this Bill is an occasion for attempting to rationalise the position, so that we do not debase the advantageous and beneficial right, as we must consider it, of being called a British subject.

§ Mr. Younger

On the question of the permission of the Secretary of State under Clause 4(1, b), I do not think it is possible to state with any precision, in what circumstances such permission might be given, but there might be occasions when the Secretary of State was satisfied that omission to register within a year was due to perfectly good reasons. It may have been because of absence far distant from a place where registration could be made. It may have been due to ignorance of the law. I do not think we can exclude the possibility that my right hon. Friend might think that that was good ground in certain circumstances. He would require some explanation as to why registration had not taken place. If it was merely due to a lack of interest in becoming a British subject it might be that my right hon. Friend would not think it right to give his permission.

On the hon. Gentleman's second point, I am sure he appreciates that he is raising a difficult problem. His proposal, as I 1127 understand it, would mean that the Secretary of State would have to decide on the merits of someone who applied for permission to register in accordance with the law. My right hon. Friend would have to decide whether or not he was a worthy case for British citizenship; he would have to decide whether that person retained a link with British life which made him a British subject. That would be difficult for my right hon. Friend to decide. It would not be in accordance with previous law. I am not aware that there has been any major anomaly, although there have been some anomalous cases. The difficulty of putting the matter right would be very great and, in the Bill, there is no attempt to exclude such persons from British citizenship.