HC Deb 20 June 1952 vol 502 cc1803-12

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House do now adjourn."—[Mr. Heath.]

4.2 p.m.

Sir Leslie Plummer (Deptford)

We have been discussing today the effect of precipitate action on our fellow subjects at home and, in the brief time I have at my disposal, I want to raise the question of the danger of precipitate action on our fellow-subjects, many thousands of miles away, whose fate is nevertheless, our responsibility.

As the time is limited and the ground to be covered is so considerable, I wish to concentrate my remarks on the problems of Basutoland, rather than those of Bechuanaland and Swaziland. I do so, not because the last two Territories are not important, but because Basutoland is a classic illustration of the problems facing the three High Commission Territories—problems which are giving very great concern to my hon. Friends and, I am sure, hon. Members opposite who are worried about the future of these Territories.

It is scarcely necessary for me to say that the political events which have taken place in the South African Union are of a nature and character that make us insistent that we should obtain from the Government a pledge that the undertakings which were given to the peoples of the High Commission Territories as long ago as 1909 shall be carried out, that is to say, that their interests would be paramount and that their protection would be maintained.

The people of Basutoland are Britons. They are British subjects in every respect, the same as those of us in this House. In 1867, when the Proclamation of Imperial Protection was issued, these words were issued by the then Governor: I do hereby proclaim and declare that from and after the publication of this Proclamation the tribe of the Basuto shall be and shall be taken to be for all intents and purposes British subjects and the territory of the said tribe shall be and shall be taken to be British territory. These Basutos constitute a nation. Basutoland is a colony. Its subjects are British and not protected persons. Finally, it has double the population of Bechuanaland or Swaziland. Ever since we took the territory back from the Cape Colony after the Cape Colony had been defeated by the Basutos in the Gun War of 1871, we have exercised complete protection over them. The fact is that the Cape Colony had a go at running Basutoland and made a mess of it to such a degree that they suffered ignominious defeat in a war, and when the Basutos came to us and asked us for protection it was because they believed that they would be safe and secure, and sure of having a really strong and vigorous friend looking after them.

To a great degree they have had that. Nobody who has ever travelled through South Africa, for example, would compare for one moment the position and situation of the people living in the South African Reserve, particularly on the Transkei, with the situation of the Basutos. On the whole, we have done a great deal for them. But the time has now arrived when we should consider whether this is an opportunity for the transference of Basutoland and the other High Commission territories to the Colonial Office.

It is said that the Commonwealth Relations Office is very largely a Ministry of appeasement. I do not say that in a derogatory way, but the Commonwealth Relations Office appoints the High Commissioner for the three territories, who is also the ambassador for South Africa, and, naturally enough, when he is considering any plans for Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland, his main consideration is, what effect will these plans have on opinion South of the Limpopo? The development of a country should depend on what is thought in the neighbouring country. The Colonial Office, on the other hand have a reputation for development, for doing their best to see that the native peoples have the economic, political and social advancement which they must have.

A transfer of these territories to the Colonial Office would. I think, be hailed not only by them but by the rest of the African people throughout the whole Continent as an expression of a determination on the part of Her Majesty's Government to see to it that the advancement of the African people will not be held in check because other people, not at the moment in control, have an ideological objection to such an advancement.

The position in Basutoland is that it is a grossly over-populated country. There are 500,000 people and they Cannot find sufficient work or sufficient land to keep them on a scale to which they are entitled. Altogether, 161,000 families are living in the country, 11,000 of them having no land at all and 91,000 of them living on less than seven acres, under conditions in which they find it extremely difficult to sustain a proper standard of life. Clearly we cannot transfer land, for if we do we take it away from the chiefs whom we use as instruments of policy, thus weakening their authority, and we do not solve the problem. The way is de-tribalisation, industrialisation.

Today there is not a single factory in Basutoland. There is not a factory for tanning native leather, there is not a factory for spinning and treating native wool. Blankets even are imported from this country. The reason why that happens is that at the moment the High Commissioner, under the control of the Commonwealth Relations Office, is naturally chary about introducing schemes of comparatively large scale development because he does not know when the country may be transferred to the Union of South Africa.

It is an inhibiting force all the time, and to the 1,700 Europeans living in the three High Commission Territories it is a constant worry as to what is going to happen. So long as the territories remain under the control of the Commonwealth Relations Office this sort of thing is going to go on, but if they were transferred to the Colonial Office that would be an assurance to the whole world that we are determined to maintain our protectorate over those lands and over those people.

The countries are so wretchedly poor that I am not suggesting they can live by themselves. They are naturally dependent on South Africa, and they have to live with South Africa; and they must see to it that there is a supply of labour to South Africa to some extent. At the moment two-thirds of the wealth of the country is coming back in remittances from labourers in South Africa. That is a bad thing for the country. I am not suggesting that industrialisation on such a scale as would allow a very high standard of living is going to be possible, but a great step forward towards that end could be possible, and I do suggest that what the countries need now is a comparatively large scale scheme of economic development.

But that in itself is not enough, for we have got at some time—and I do urge this point on the Government—to give these territories the same promise of political advancement that we are giving to other parts of Africa. Abraham Lincoln said we cannot have a nation living half slave and half free, but what is facing us in Africa is, that we have one part of Africa where the whites have the same economic opportunities and the same political opportunities as the Africans—on the Gold Coast, in Nigeria, and the rest—while in the High Commission Territories and other parts of Africa there are no opportunities for African people comparable to those enjoyed by the people on the Gold Coast and in other parts.

At the moment there are signs of an awakening and of the beginning of understanding of political development as something in which Africans can participate, but while we hold those lands, as it were, in trust, and while we are in a situation of appeasing the South Africans and saying to the Africans, "We shall not take action that will upset them," there is no chance that those people will feel any encouragement that they will be helped to those steps of self development to which they are entitled.

They need machinery on a co-operative basis to improve their agriculture. There are magnificent schemes of soil conservation being operated in Basutoland today—absolutely first-class schemes of soil conservation—but insufficient machinery to raise the fruits of that conservation out of the soil. We preserve the soil but are not giving the people the means to plant the crops and to reap the harvests.

The people are ready for co-operative schemes. They want them. They must not be refused them on the lines of our saying, "We do not want you to advance too quickly because it may be that your country will be transferred to South Africa, and in those circumstances you will suffer immediately a cut in your standard of progress." That is not going to be acceptable to them. At the moment, what we are giving them is conservation without development, and it is development they require. It is the opportunity of marching along the road of progress that they must have.

In advocating this transfer, I would couple with it the absolute necessity for political and social advancement at the same time. One is useless without the other, because the territories cannot be developed economically to the ultimate and 100 per cent. degree.

I am sure that the Commonwealth Relations Office would be loath to give up these territories just as any other Government Department is loath to give up any of its functions. I am sure that suggestion would be opposed most bitterly by some of the people in that Office, but I believe that the Under-Secretary has a more open and fresher mind on the subject than is usually thought, and I trust that he will look at this problem. I am certain he wants to see that these Protectorate peoples are given a chance and I hope he will discuss with his colleagues the possibility of the transference of power in such a form that these people shall be able to enjoy the benefits of Colonial development, which can be best operated through the Colonial Office.

4.16 p.m.

The Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (Mr. John Foster)

I want to begin by traversing the argument of the hon. Member for Deptford (Sir L. Plummer) who has introduced this interesting Adjournment debate, and who has said that the main consideration in the administration of these three territories—he was referring particularly to Basutoland. I think, but the argument applied in his mind to the administration of all three territories—would be the affect on South Africa.

I wish to assure the hon. Member that he is inaccurate in what he said, and that there is no principle in the Commonwealth Relations Office that the development of these territories or any one of them should be held up because some feeling runs through the Office, as he said that we do not want to advance too quickly. There is no such feeling.

In any approach as to whether it would be better for the Colonial Office or the Commonwealth Relations Office to administer these territories, an entirely objective standard should be applied, and it should be the Department which by the nature of things can best fulfil the task which should administer them. I think the hon. Gentleman will probably agree that that would be the right objective.

After the examination had been done, as it was done again under my noble Friend's predecessor—a study was made under Lord Ismay—to view quite objectively whether it would be better under the Colonial Office or under the Commonwealth Relations Office, we came to the conclusion that, by and large, the Commonwealth Relations Office was the proper Department to administer them. I do not say necessarily that everybody has to agree with that view, but I do ask the hon. Gentleman to accept that the study was done in an objective spirit one the right principles and applying the right criteria.

One has to remember, first of all, the very close connection of these territories with South Africa. It is a close physical connection because, as the hon. Gentleman knows, the territory of Basutoland is entirely surrounded by South African territory, while Bechuanaland and Swaziland have very large common frontiers with South Africa, and Swaziland has not a very great frontier with territories on the other side. It is difficult in this country to envisage the very close physical connection that exists. The territories are dependent entirely on the Union of South Africa for intercommunication. Everything I say, of course, applies all the more to Basutoland, which, as I have already pointed out, is entirely surrounded by South African territory.

In the case of Basutoland, it is entirely dependent on the Union of South Africa for inter-communication and upon the Union's road and railway system and coastal and telegraph services. The territories, as the hon. Members knows, are included in the customs union with the Union of South Africa. In addition, the territories depend upon the Union of South Africa for the importation of those foodstuffs of which they are short. When a deficit occurs in foodstuffs, it is upon the Union of South Africa that they have to rely for the importation of foodstuffs.

As the hon. Gentleman mentioned, in the case of Basutoland especially, the Union provides a source of employment for the manpower of the Basutos. I appreciate that he said that it was too great an employment, because it was part of his argument that the territory has not been developed sufficiently. The fact is that a very large part of the manpower of these territories, especially in Basutoland, is employed in the Union of South Africa. These are the main things in which there is very close communication. One can, of course, make a long list by going into the more minor matters in which there is the very closest daily communication between the territories and the Union of South Africa.

This means that there is a close daily contact between the administration of these territories and the officials in South Africa. This has to be so by reason of the geographical contiguity and by the fact that these territories are not economically independent. One cannot imagine Basutoland, with no sea frontier, and over populated, as the hon. Gentleman said, being a viable unit by itself. That does not mean that the hon. Gentleman is not quite right in saying that it should be given the very best administration, and that steps should continuously be taken to improve its economy. Besides this, so to speak, direct official contact which has to take place, the territories benefit from close liaison with the Union's technical departments, particularly their agricultural and veterinary services. They obtain advice and assistance of a quality that they could not get by themselves.

Sir L. Plummet

They could, of could, get that from the Colonial Office.

Mr. Foster

I was going to lead on to that. They do, in fact, get the closest assistance from the Colonial Office as well. As the hon. Gentleman knows, many of the officials in these territories are seconded or recruited from the colonial services, and the Colonial Office gives the benefit of its assistance and the advice of its technical officers. For instance, if some advice on education or police or about policy or some programme is wanted, the Colonial Office always puts its trained and specialised personnel at our disposal for that advice.

So I do not think it can be adduced that the territories would get any more advice on policy or on matters of administration or any more help from experts if they were under the Colonial Office, or only to the very smallest extent.

The argument in favour of putting it under the Colonial Office must be that it is better on the whole to have all the territories which are colonies administered by the same office. I think that the strength of that argument is recognised. Against that, it has always been thought, and I believe it to be true, that while there might be some advantage in that way there would be the disadvantage of having to set up a separate colonial administration which would not be in a position, by reason of the fact that the Union of South Africa is an independent Commonwealth country, to get the same close liaison on the Union side.

Those two points of view have to be put one against the other. I ask the hon. Gentleman to accept that these arguments have been carefully weighed and considered and honestly approached. I do not ask him to agree with the conclusion. That, I recognise, from the hon. Gentleman's point of view is arguable and debatable. I ask him to accept that we adopted the right way of considering the question and that though, in his view, we may have come to the wrong conclusion it is always open for new arguments and facts to be brought forward.

It follows that the High Commissioner in South Africa who administers these three territories does not regard any schemes for large-scale development from the point of view of whether they would be a waste of money because the territories might be transferred. That is not his attitude. It would be very wrong if he regarded it in that way on instructions from the C.R.O. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that no such consideration has entered the thinking of the Commonwealth Relations Office as long as I have been there, and I see no trace of one under our predecessors.

It is a mistake to try to differentiate too much between one Department of the Government and another. In political matters the Government is responsible as a whole. The Government of the country is under the Cabinet, and the Ministers not in the Cabinet take its political decision. Theirs is the political responsibility, and their duty with regard to the three territories is to administer them properly in the interests of the inhabitants and to take all the measures necessary for their welfare. Therefore, it is not true that the Commonwealth Relations Office approaches or would approach the problem from any different point of view from that of the Colonial Office.

The only argument I see which is at all valid in favour of putting the territories under the Colonial Office is that it would add the three territories to the more numerous territories administered from a colonial point of view by the Colonial Office and that we should, therefore, get certain advantages in administration. As I have said, those arguments are overweighed by the fact that we try to get the best of both worlds by having this close liaison with the Colonial Office and also by the fact that it is necessary for the territories to be administered by an office which is in close touch with the Union Government.

The hon. Gentleman asked about political development. He will probably agree with the policy of Her Majesty's Government that at present we should concentrate on the development of local government and especially on representative councils and district councils in which we shall get the Africans to participate more and more. We have to start from the bottom. The hon. Gentleman asked about present development in Bechuanaland. Our plans for that are not possible of implementation immediately, but these are our intentions. With regard to Basutoland, this work is going forward.

Sir L. Plummer

Are there local difficulties?

Mr. Foster

There are local difficulties in Bechuanaland at the moment, and we must face this. In our view this is only possible at the present stage of development by centring this development round the indigenous institution of the chief. The policy is to get this going gradually. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we should be energetic about the development. I assure him that we shall be.

There is no question of our being affected by any representations from South Africa. No representations have been received. We shall pursue the policy which is best for these territories. The hon. Gentleman's fears about any views being vocally expressed by South Africa or having an influence on Her Majesty's Government are, I think, misplaced. The policy of developing political institutions on a local level in these territories will be pursued by Her Majesty's Government in the best interests of the people.

In the few minutes that remain it is relevant to draw the attention of the House to the Commonwealth Development and Welfare Acts which have provided a substantial sum of money for these territories, some £3½million. There has recently been a grant of £500,000, and various matters like soil conservation and development of water supplies are being encouraged to this extent. Also, the Colonial Development Corporation has four schemes in the territories, which are of great use.

I have not said much about the pledge, because that was the subject of an answer by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Maldon (Mr. Driberg) during this Parliament. It was made quite clear that on this point the policy of the preceding Government and that of this Government are exactly the same and that the pledge given will be observed.

Question put, and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-nine Minutes to Five o'Clock.