§ 41. Mr. Stonehouseasked the Prime Minister if, at the forthcoming meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, he will propose a Commonwealth scheme for assistance, including resettlement, to the white minorities in Africa.
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. StonehouseWould the Prime Minister agree that, while all of us would accept that those Europeans who accept democracy should be perfectly free to stay in these Territories, there is a fearful problem building up for Europeans who will not accept individual political equality? Is not that a problem in which the British Commonwealth could help?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not quite understand the motive behind this Question. It seems to me that any other answer than the one I gave would be the abandonment of the whole concept of partnership between Africans, Europeans and Asians, and would involve economic disaster for all the Territories concerned.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonIn considering these matters, should not we remember that some of these white minorities, patronisingly referred to in this Question, are longer-established than some of the surrounding African tribes?
§ The Prime MinisterIndeed. All over Africa; sometimes for generations and sometimes for centuries, they have often settled on land which, when they arrived, was without population.