§ 43. Mr. MacDermotasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the qualifications for admission as an advocate of the Bar in Uganda, Tanganyika, and Kenya, respectively, of a person qualified as a barrister or solicitor in England; what forms of employment are permitted during any period of residential qualification; what financial assistance is granted by the Colonial Governments concerned; and what is the basis for differences in qualifications in the three Territories.
§ Mr. ProfumoWith regard to the first part of the Question, as the conditions governing admission are long and varied, I am placing copies of the relevant Advocates Ordinances in the Library.
My right hon. Friend is consulting the Acting Governor of Kenya and the Governors of Tanganyika and Uganda on the last three parts of the Question and will write to the hon. Member when their replies have been received.
§ Mr. MacDermotI thank the Minister for that statement. Is he aware that the regulations, of which I hope we shall get full details, are creating a very real problem for Africans who come here in order to qualify and, having done so, are in a position where they would be allowed to practise in our courts but, on returning to their own countries, have to wait for a further substantial period—when they are not able to earn their living—before they are able to practise in the courts in their own countries? Can he look carefully into the question whether or not some change should be made in the relevant ordinances?
§ Mr. ProfumoIt would be best to wait until the hon. Gentleman has read the ordinances in the Library, and the letter which, I have told him, my right hon. Friend will send him. If he is then in any doubt I shall be only too glad to try to answer another Question on the subject.