§ 33. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to recommend that the proposed Royal Commission to inquire into grievances in Kenya should issue an interim report within six months.
§ Mr. LytteltonI will mention this suggestion to the Chairman of the Royal Commission. I am sure that if, after consultation with the Governor of Kenya, the Commission were of the opinion that an interim report on any particular matter within their terms of reference was desirable, they would not hesitate to make one. They may, however, feel, as I am somewhat disposed to do, that they could best help by completing, before they submit any report, their study of the wider range of problems affecting East Africa as a whole.
§ Mr. RankinCould the Secretary of State say whether the personnel of the Committee has yet been completed, and when it is proposed that it shall convene and leave for Kenya; does he not realise that the situation in Kenya may not await the issue of a Royal Commission Report, and does that not emphasise the need for an interim report?
§ Mr. LytteltonI think there is something in that, and I am doing all I can to complete the personnel of the Royal Commission. In fact, I have given instructions that all communications to persons invited are to be made by telegram and not by dispatch. These people are widely dispersed all over the world, and I am afraid it will still take a little time before I can announce the completion.