HC Deb 01 December 1960 vol 631 cc564-7
8. Mr. Fisher

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he will now state when constitutional talks are to take place on Southern Rhodesia, and who the African delegates to this conference will be.

10. Mr. Stonehouse

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he is now in a position to state details of the delegations appointed to attend the Federal Review Conference.

12. Mr. G. M. Thomson

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what information he has received regarding African representation on the delegations from Southern Rhodesia for the talks on future constitutional changes in that territory and for the conference to review the constitution of the Central African Federation.

Mr. Sandys

I will circulate in HANSARD the names of delegates as far as they have been received.

In all, there will probably be about sixty delegates from the Federation and the three Territories. Of these, about half will be Europeans.

The final list of the Southern Rhodesia Delegation is not yet available, but if the invitations issued by Sir Edgar Whitehead are accepted, the delegation will consist of about nineteen members, of whom about half are likely to be Europeans.

The Southern Rhodesia Constitutional Conference will be held concurrently with the Federal Review Conference.

Mr. Fisher

If reports in the newspapers are correct, may I express my appreciation for what I should like to describe as the constructive realism of my right hon. Friend in securing representation from the N.D.P. and assure him, I am sure on behalf of the whole House, of our best wishes for the successful outcome of these very difficult but highly important Central African conferences which are about to take place?

Mr. Sandys

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his good wishes and I will certainly need any good luck I can get. The composition of the Southern Rhodesian delegation is not a matter on which I took any decision. The decisions were taken by the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia.

Mr. Stonehouse

May I, from the back benches on this side of the House, confirm what has been said by the hon. Member for Surbiton (Mr. Fisher) and congratulate the Secretary of State on the initiative he took to ensure that the National Democratic Party was represented at the Federal Review Conference, and also wish him luck in the conference? However, will he ensure that, specifically on the question of the Southern Rhodesia review, African participation is adequate enough to ensure that the nine-tenths of the population of Southern Rhodesia which is black are having a fair expression of opinion?

Mr. Sandys

The hon. Gentleman must not embarrass me with too many congratulations on this rather delicate point. I explained that about half the delegation from Southern Rhodesia would be European and I expect that the remainder will be African, with possibly two exceptions—there may be one Asian and one coloured representative. However, before saying anything definite, I must wait for the final list. We are not going to count noses at a conference of this kind, and what is essential is that all points of view should be properly represented.

Mr. Callaghan

I do not wish to congratulate the right hon. Gentleman, because I have no desire to get him into trouble with some Members of his party. Can he explain a little more the status of the delegates to the conference? Will they all have the same ability to express their views? In other words, will they all be full members of the conference so that there is complete expression of opinion?

Mr. Sandys

All delegates will be equal.

The following is the list of names available at present:

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Northern Rhodesia

Nyasaland

Southern Rhodesia

The final list of the Southern Rhodesia Delegation is not available, but if the invitations issued by Sir Edgar Whitehead are accepted, the Delegation will consist of about 19 members of whom 10 will be Europeans.

Of the above 71, 42 will be European.