61. Mr. Vaneasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent the basic Control Commission law requiring the Governments of the German Länder to expropriate farmland, where farms exceeded a given size, is still in force.
§ Mr. Ernest DaviesA British Military Government Ordinance laid down the general lines on which agrarian reform should be carried out in the British zone and is still in force. Detailed legislation implementing the ordinance in the individual Länder is likewise in force.
Mr. VaneCan the hon. Gentleman say what advantage there is in keeping these ordinances in force, in the face of informed agricultural opinion in Germany, unless it is the same as that referred to last week and is only to please hon. Members opposite?
§ Mr. DaviesNo, Sir. This is a question of land reform in Germany, and we are not aware that the majority of the German population is by any means opposed to this one.
Mr. VaneDoes the hon. Gentleman not realise that this particular policy does not deserve the title of land reform, as it affects only a comparatively small number of farms in the British zone, and the land is not going to be sufficient to settle any large number of people? It is a purely political move and nothing else.
§ Mr. PickthornCan the hon. Gentleman think of any legal or moral justification for the use of the forces of an occupying Power for making what is a social arrangement?