§ 10. Sir R. Aclandasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a further statement about the speech of Sir John Sterndale Bennett at the Economic Co-operation, Asia and Far East, Conference at Bandung, in view of the fact that the full text of his speech shows that he did warn South-East Asian countries that they might have to make cuts in their development programmes, and that they should cut out those items not likely to increase production within the next few years, and that they should try to finance remaining items out of restriction in consumption.
§ Mr. NuttingThe hon. Baronet's summary of this speech is slightly misleading. Sir John Sterndale Bennett suggested that the reduction of some programmes might be necessary, but he did not suggest that all development should be financed by restriction in consumption. Such a measure was advocated as a preferable alternative to deficit financing, or, in other words, inflation.
§ Sir R. AclandI appreciate that in the early part of his speech Sir John paid tribute to the importance of development, but surely the Minister will agree that in the operative part of his speech, which was reported with dead accuracy in the "Observer," and not misreported, as I was told a fortnight ago, he was in fact suggesting a combined policy of reducing the development programmes and paying in part by a cut in consumption, which in fact means abandoning the objective of the Colombo Plan?
§ Mr. NuttingI do not agree with the hon. Baronet that Sir John Sterndale Bennett merely paid tribute to the importance of continuing with the development programmes. What he said at the beginning of his speech was:
My delegation feels that the really important thing for each country is to make every effort to carry out its development programme.821 That is a statement of Her Majesty's Government policy and in my view it goes a lot further than merely paying tribute to the importance of development.