§ 16. Mr. Fenner Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent under the provisions of the Northern Rhodesia (No. 2) Order in 172 Council, 1954, the right to alienate African lands will be delegated by the Governor to a member of the Executive Council.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydNo delegation of power to alienate African lands has been made, or is intended to be made.
§ Mr. BrockwayWill the right hon. Gentleman look at the Amendment contained in the Northern Rhodesia (No. 2) Order in Council, 1954, to the Northern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1924, and give us an assurance that in that Amendment there is no change?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIndeed, I can. I hope that those who read the Questions of the hon. Gentleman will also read the Answers, for a great deal of misunderstanding in Colonial Territories is often created by people who read only the Question and who do not wait for the Answer. Under recent regulations the Governor of Northern Rhodesia has delegated power to the Director of Services and Land to make grants of Crown Lands on his behalf, subject only to the special or general directions of the member of the Executive Council responsible for land. Under the relevant Statutes and Orders the definition of Crown Land expressly excludes all native reserves, native trust land and land or mineral rights to which the Paramount Chief and people of the Barotse are entitled. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will use his considerable influence with the people who read his Questions to draw attention to the Answers given to his Questions.
§ Mr. BrockwayWith reference to that admonition, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is not a fact that the Kenya Government have suppressed nearly all the African newspapers? If the European newspapers which remain fail to report his replies, the responsibility cannot be mine.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the generous way in which he took my admonition. We shall all be giving each other a good deal of advice in the course of the next few weeks, and in regard to the availability of newsprint perhaps the United Kingdom is not in the best position to lecture other countries at this time.
§ Mr. BaldwinDo not the Questions that are asked in this House on these 173 occasions do a great deal of harm overseas and create strife between the various races?
§ Mr. HobsonCan the right hon. Gentleman state the number of African newspapers printed in Nairobi at the present moment?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIf the hon. Gentleman will put a Question on the Order Paper for that information, I will gladly answer it. To my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Mr. Baldwin), who asked about the mischief that might be done by Parliamentary Questions, I would quote a Nigerian proverb, which is the slogan of a newspaper in Nigeria, that the truth is worth more than a penny. The truth can often be conveyed by Parliamentary Answers as well as by Parliamentary Questions.