TANGANYIKA (GIFT OF A SPEAKER'S CHAIR) (Hansard, 19 December 1962)

Mr. Macleod

I was referring to the leadership that Tanganyika has been fortunate in having from people of African, European, Asian and other communities over the years. In a very notable roll of Governors, names like Cameron, Twining and Turnbull, perhaps, are outstanding, and amongst those leaders, of course, the first Prime Minister and the present President, Mr. Julius Nyerere, who is a friend of mine and of many hon. Members of the House, is very eminent.

I should like to end by putting before the House some words that he used in October, 1959, when he expressed the aspirations of the people of his country. This is what he said: We the people of Tanganyika would like to light a candle and put it on top of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our borders giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate, and dignity where before there was only humiliation. Those words are, in fact, now on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. They have been affixed to a plaque which is part of the celebrations that attended the attainment of republican status within the Commonwealth by Tanganyika. They have been placed there, and they stand as an expression of what the people of Tanganyika seek, not just for themselves, but for all the people of Africa, and, indeed, of the world.

It is in this spirit that we send to the National Assembly of Tanganyika from this House this message of good will and of affection, and this gift that we would wish to present to them.