GHANA (GIFT OF SPEAKER'S CHAIR) (Hansard, 5 November 1958)

§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Lord Privy Seal (Mr. R. A. Butler)

I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that Her Majesty will give directions that there be presented, on behalf of this House, a Speaker's Chair to the Parliament of Ghana, and assuring Her Majesty that this House will make good the expenses attending the same. The Motion is in the happy tradition established by other gifts made by the House of Commons to other Legislatures within the Commonwealth. Hon. Members will remember that in recent years we have presented Speakers' Chairs to the Parliaments of Ceylon and New Zealand and a Mace to the Parliament of Australia. It is right and proper that the House of Commons, in which we sit surrounded by gifts from other parts of the Commonwealth—gifts which are tributes of affection and fellowship—should from time to time convey its own feelings of affection and its good wishes to these other legislatures.

I should like to mention the story of this gift. It will be remembered that on 21st February last year, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, in making a statement about the independence of Ghana, said that he had no doubt that it would be the wish of the House to make a gift to the Parliament of Ghana. This proposal was generally approved and endorsed by the Leader of the Opposition. When I visited Ghana during the independence ceremonies, I ascertained that the most acceptable gift would be a Speaker's Chair.

On 6th June, 1957, the Leader of the Opposition asked me to make a statement about the proposed gift. I informed the House that Her Majesty's Government had authorised me to propose to Mr. Speaker that he should, on behalf of the House, offer to the Parliament of Ghana the gift of a Chair for their Speaker. The Chair itself was completed before Parliament broke up for the Summer Recess and was on exhibition in the 952 House late in July. I am sure that Members who saw the Chair admired its dignified design, which, the House will be glad to know, was approved by the Speaker and representatives of the Ghana Parliament. I am sure that we have all considered it a worthy specimen of British craftsmanship.

The purpose of this gift is to mark Ghana's attainment of full independence within the Commonwealth in March, 1957. It is also a token of good will of the House of Commons and the people of the United Kingdom towards the Parliament and people of Ghana and it will bring with it our best wishes for Ghana's happiness and prosperity.

The Motion proposes that the presentation be made on behalf of the House of Commons. If, as I hope, the Committee accepts the Motion, the Committee will pledge itself to honour the necessary estimate, which will, I think, with the expenses of presentation, be in the neighbourhood of £1,250. The actual arrangements for presenting the gift will be made by Mr. Speaker. I believe that he contemplates that, following the usual practice, the Chair might be presented by a small Parliamentary delegation which would visit Ghana at the appropriate time by mutual agreement.

§ Mr. James Griffiths (Llanelly)

On behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, I warmly support the Motion. Those of us who have been privileged to visit the Commonwealth countries, and, in particular, the Colonies which have been emerging towards independence, have been deeply impressed by the way in which our Parliamentary institutions, transplanted to other countries and continents, have taken such deep roots.

It is a joy to go to these Legislative Assemblies and see that the Chamber itself and the procedure of their Houses are all modelled upon this Mother of Parliaments in Westminster. It may well be—I think it will—that one of the great contributions of our race to the Commonwealth and to the world will be the establishment and nurturing of Parliamentary institutions in those countries.

I was privileged to accompany the Leader of the House on the historic day on which 'Ghana attained its independence. We warmly welcomed her decision, for it is the decision of Ghana 953 and her people, to stay within the Commonwealth. We warmly welcome their continued association with the Commonwealth.

I support the arrangements which the Lord Privy Seal has indicated, by which the House of Commons will present a Speaker's Chair to the Parliament of Ghana. In presenting the Chair, we shall send with it our very best wishes to the Parliament and people of Ghana for their future success and well-being.