22. Mr. John Hallasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if an agreement has yet been reached with the Government of Sierra Leone on the legalisation of indigenous diamond mining; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI am not yet in a position to add anything to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Flint, East (Mrs. White) last week.
§ 40. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the value of diamonds mined in Sierra Leone in 1954; and what proportion of this was produced by the Sierra Leone Selection Trust Limited.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe value of diamonds exported in 1954 by the Sierra Leone Selection Trust was £1,699,874. I have seen various estimates of current illicit production ranging from £2 million to £4 million per annum but am in no 366 position to vouch for their accuracy or otherwise.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs the Secretary of State not aware that people in the Colony are virtually digging up diamonds from their back gardens, which leads to a Colony-wide black market? Could he not see his way to licensing authorised diggers and thus end this monopoly?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIt is precisely because I am aware of the comparative ease with which these stones can be extracted that I asked for a delegation to come from Sierra Leone, with whom I am now in the middle of negotiations.
§ Mr. StokesAs one who has supplied machinery for digging diamonds, may I ask whether it is true that if all the diamonds which are dug were released to the public they would be completely and utterly worthless?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe right hon. Gentleman is perfectly correct, and I am sure that he, like many other capitalists, is interested in the preservation of legal practices.