NIGERIA (GIFT OF SPEAKER'S CHAIR) (Hansard, 24 July 1962)

§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Iain Macleod)

I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that Her Majesty will give directions that there be presented, on behalf of this House, a Speaker's Chair to the House of Representatives of Nigeria, and assuring Her Majesty that this House will make good the expenses attending the same. It falls to me as Leader of the House to move a great number of Motions of very differing sorts. The last one, I recall, was in relation to an Allocation of Time Motion for the Pipe-lines Bill, which did not attract universal applause from the House of Commons. It is, therefore, all the more pleasant that one can be certain of moving this sort of Motion and of having the warm support of all hon. Members in all quarters of the House. It is indeed a great pleasure to have the opportunity briefly to move this Motion, which, of course, the whole House will wish to support. The gift that we propose is in accordance with the traditions that we have, and there have been a long line of such gifts. I am sure we all feel that, surrounded as we are everywhere we look with gifts from different parts of the Commonwealth, it is an excellent thing that from time to time we should remember these links of affection and friendship and that we in our turn should convey our feelings and send similar good wishes to other Legislative Assemblies.

If I may mention the story of this gift, on 19th April this year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, replying to a Question from the Leader of the Opposition, told the House that it was proposed that Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 1422 the House, should offer to the House of Representatives of Nigeria the gift of a Speaker's Chair, and we have, of course, ascertained that that gift would be much welcomed in Nigeria.

The Chair itself is in the process of being made and is expected to be completed by the end of August. We hope to be able to display it before it is sent to Nigeria for presentation The purpose of this gift is to mark Nigeria's attainment of full independence within the Commonwealth, and it carries with it our very best wishes for her future happiness and prosperity.

All I need add is that the Motion proposes that the presentation shall be made on behalf of the House of Commons. When we accept this Motion, at the same time we will pledge ourselves to honour the necessary estimate. The actual arrangements for presenting the gift will be made by Mr. Speaker and, indeed, I think arrangements are already in hand for it to be presented probably early in November by a small Parliamentary delegation which will be composed of members of the United Kingdom branch of the C.P.A. who will then be attending a conference in Nigeria. This carries our very best wishes to that very great country. Many of us have many friends in Nigeria. All of us wish that great country well, and I am sure we will send this gift with our best wishes for the future.

§ Mr. Denis Healey (Leeds, East)

I am not quite sure how far it would be politic or even honest of me to express pleasure in being able to agree with the Leader of the House on anything at this moment, but I would say, on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends and myself, how much we welcome the proposal to give a Chair to the Nigerian Parliament and that we subscribe wholeheartedly to the Humble Address to Her Majesty for this purpose.

I think all of us on both sides of the House are extremely proud of the rôle which Nigeria has been playing in the last year or so as an independent State within the Commonwealth and of the outstanding contribution which it has made in African affairs in general. I was most impressed, when I was in the Congo in January, to find how deeply the action of the Nigerian police and 1423 troops in the United Nations forces was appreciated and admired by the Congolese people. I think that generally one can say that most African peoples have the same impression of the conduct and bearing of Nigeria as an independent State.

I think we are all also extremely proud of the loyalty of Nigeria to Parliamentary institutions, which in a sense is symbolised by the gift of this Chair. We have noted with interest that the precedent of some Parliamentary turbulence which was set by Nigeria in recent months has been followed in our own Parliament in the last week or so.

We were very pleased to welcome Mr. Njoku in London last week as the Chairman this year of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and we shall all be extremely proud that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is holding its annual conference in Nigeria in two months time.

As I have said, on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends and myself, I fully support the wish of the Leader of the House that Nigeria shall continue to enjoy prosperity and good fortune as an independent State, and we strongly subscribe to the provision of this Chair as a token of our affection and respect for this new State inside the Commonwealth.