§ 29. Miss Herbisonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what weapons were used when twenty Africans were killed at Nkata Bay; and what previous action was taken to disperse the people.
§ Mr. J. AmeryA Sten gun and rifles.
The District Commissioner spent nearly two and a half hours trying to persuade the crowd to disperse. When the crowd reached the dock gates and it became evident that they had no intention of dispersing, the District Commission read out the Riot Act, but this had no effect. It was only after the crowd had broken into the port area that firearms were used.
§ Miss HerbisonDoes not that reply show how shocking the treatment accorded to the Africans was? Is the 203 Under-Secretary aware that my information is that those Africans were completely unarmed? Are not other attempts usually made besides reading the Riot Act? Is it not the fact that sometimes a shot is fired into the air rather than using a Sten gun, which kills twenty people at one burst?
§ Mr. AmeryI am sure that the hon. Lady will not want to mislead the House. As I said, the District Commissioner spent nearly two hours trying to persuade the crowd to disperse. He had only six or seven soldiers with him. It was a large crowd. If the hon. Lady had been in the position of the District Commissioner, I am not sure that she would have acted differently.
§ Mr. G. M. ThomsonDoes the Under-Secretary of State deny that the crowd was unarmed? Why was not tear gas used to disperse the crowd?
§ Mr. AmeryI do not even know if tear gas was available at that point. I am not clear that the crowd was unarmed in the strict sense of the word.