§ 36 and 37. Mr. Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) under what authority district commissioners in Nyasaland have mobilised the residents of nearby villages at bayonet point to remove road blocks and have ordered houses and huts in which loot has been found to be burned down;
(2) under what authority district commissioners in Nyasaland have levied collective fines on villages in areas where buildings have been burned, lootings have taken place and road blocks erected.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Julian Amery)Authority for levying collective fines is contained in Emergency Regulation No. 67; but no collective fines have so far been levied. Emergency Regulation No. 15 empowers members of the police and Her Majesty's forces to order local inhabitants to remove road blocks, and Emergency Regulation No. 48 permits the use of reasonable force in exercise of this power. No villagers have been mobilised at bayonet point for the purpose of removing road blocks.
As regards the burning of buildings, in one case only was this ordered by a district officer following serious looting and arson in the area.
§ Mr. BrockwayIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the source of my information was a newspaper very friendly to him and to his Government, namely, the Evening Standard? Will he look at the reports from the correspondent of the Evening Standard in Nyasaland of 9th and 11th March, in which these actions are described and the statement is made that these actions are much sterner in Nyasaland than they were in Cyprus because they are under the control of the district commissioner?
§ Mr. AmeryI will naturally look at the articles to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. I have given him the information which is at my disposal at the present time.
§ Miss HerbisonHas the Minister any statement yet to make on the inquiries which the Governor-General of Nyasaland was going to make into the incidents at the Mission in Blantyre? The Minister may remember that the Secretary of State for the Colonies promised that he would make a statement on this matter.
Miss LeeWould it not be sensible for the Government to accept the proposal which has already been made, that an authoritative commission should go out, with Members from all sides of the House; otherwise, most of us are blundering in the dark?