§ 55. Mr. Fenner Brockwayasked the Prime Minister what conclusions were reached from the discussions on the future of the High Commission Protectorates at the Commonwealth Ministers' Conference.
§ The Prime MinisterThe future of the Protectorates was not discussed at the Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers. During his visit to London, however, the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa reiterated the Union Government's desire for their transfer to the Union. Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom restated their position, and agreement was not reached.
§ Mr. BrockwayMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the view of Her Majesty's Government was that the peoples of the Protectorates should be consulted before there was any transference, and whether the word "consultation" implies the consent of those people, because we have had recently the unfortunate experience of Central African Federation, where a decision was made with consultation, but without consent?
§ The Prime MinisterAs I said, agreement was not reached; our position remains as it was stated by my right hon. Friend the Member for Woodford (Sir W. Churchill) on 13th April, 1954.