HC Deb 11 December 1970 vol 808 cc823-4

11.20 a.m.

Mr. Reginald Eyre

Mr. Speaker, I apologise to you and the House for the delay in the delivery of this report making a gift of the Speaker's Chair to Swaziland, caused by my indisposition.

On 17th July, this House gave leave of absence to four of its Members to present on its behalf a Speaker's Chair to the Swaziland House of Assembly. The delegation consisted of the hon. Members for Durham, North-West (Mr. Armstrong) and Gateshead, East (Mr. Conlan), my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. J. H. Osborn) and myself. We were accompanied by Mr. Cyril James, a Deputy Principal Clerk.

I am pleased to report to the House that the Chair was presented on 3rd September in the handsome new House of Assembly and that a Motion of thanks in Swati and English was moved by the Deputy Prime Minister. The House would probably prefer me to read the English version and you, Mr. Speaker, would probably insist on it. The Motion was: We, the House of Assembly of Swaziland here assembled, express our sincere thanks to the honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the gift of a Speaker's Chair presented to us by their delegation to mark the attainment of independence of Swaziland. This Motion was agreed to nemine contradicente and I ask that it be recorded in the Journal of the House.

During our visit, we were honoured to be received in audience by His Majesty King Sobhuza II and to witness, at his invitation, the impressive traditional ceremony of the reed dance. We should like to tell this House how much we appreciated not only His Majesty's kindness but the warm hospitality and friendly welcome we received from everyone we met during our visit. Swaziland is a small and beautiful country and we were able in a short time to see something of its varying landscapes, to meet many of its people and to form a judgment of its successes and possibilities for the future.

The Speaker of the Swaziland House of Assembly, who did so much to make our visit a success, asked us to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the message you sent him. My colleagues and I wish to thank you and the House for entrusting us with the pleasant and rewarding duty of presenting a gift which, in the words of the Deputy Prime Minister of Swaziland, symbolically joins our two Houses in good will, friendship and mutual respect.

Mr. Speaker

Will the hon. Member bring the Motion to the Table?

The House will wish me to thank the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues for the excellent way in which they carried out the mission which we entrusted to them. I will see that the Resolution which was passed at the ceremony of the presentation of the Chair is entered in the Journal of the House of Commons.