Federal Capital (Hansard, 10 June 1958)

§ 27. Mr. Brockway
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what decision has been reached regarding the capital for the West Indies Federation.

§ 61. Mr. Leather
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement regarding the official statement issued by the Federal Government of the West Indies on 3rd June stating that they could not accept the view of the British and United States Governments on the report of the joint commission relating to the capital site; and what steps he now proposes to take to assist the Federal Government.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
The question of the Federal capital has not yet been decided and will be for the new Federal Government to decide. Though I am naturally sorry that they have been unable to accept, in the light of the Commission's findings, that the release of all or part of Chaguaramas is impracticable, I appreciate the restrained wording of their statement. Beyond that, I think it better not to comment while I am in communication with them about it.

§ Mr. Brockway
Will not the right hon. Gentleman have to eradicate his own state of mind if he is to find a solution to these problems in the new self-governing territories? Is it not an impossible situation that this new self-governing Federation should begin without the right to select its own capital?

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
There was, as I think the hon. Gentleman knows, a technical commission on which there were United Kingdom and West Indian technical representatives. It came to certain unanimous conclusions, which I would commend to the hon. Gentleman to read. In the light of this, it seems to be inescapable that Her Majesty's Government must make their own attitude to this report clear.

§ Mr. Leather
Will my right hon. Friend not agree that the West Indies Government find themselves in this embarrassing situation solely as a result of previous action by a previous United Kingdom Government and the West Indian Government feel that we had pledged ourselves not to make a statement without consultation with them? Will he therefore make it quite clear that our only interest is to try to help them to solve this problem and not merely to appease the United States Navy?

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
I fully agree with the last part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. In regard to past commitments, of course an undertaking was given by the war-time Government on behalf of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and as a result of commitments made all over the world we won the war. The West Indians profited by that as well as we did. I agree with my hon. Friend that our joint effort should now be designed to help them to reach a solution of their problem.