27. Mr. Dugdaleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many of the registered holdings in the Kiambu District are less than one acre and how many owners of land recently consolidated have to seek employment on other holdings owing to their inability to earn a living on their own.
§ Mr. J. AmeryI am asking the Governor of Kenya whether he can obtain this information and when I have heard from him will circulate a further reply in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Mr. DugdaleThis appears to be just another unsatisfactory case where the Under-Secretary has not the necessary information available. Does he know that his right hon. Friend told me, in a Written Answer on 20th January, that there were many holdings of 0.01 of an acre, in spite of which he said that the people were not landless? Does the Under-Secretary think that people can farm satisfactorily on 0.01 of an acre?
§ Mr. AmeryI appreciate the right hon. Gentleman's impatience at my not having all the information, but we do not want to centralise colonial government beyond a certain point.