SWAZILAND (GIFT OF A SPEAKER'S CHAIR) (Hansard, 14 May 1970)

§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Fred Peart)

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 gift of a Speaker's Chair to the Swaziland House of Assembly, and assuring Her Majesty that this House will make good the expenses attending the same.

The gift to Swaziland follows the now established tradition of the House of Commons, which we are glad to honour today, that we send a gift to the Legislature of a Commonwealth country to mark that country's attainment of independence within the Commonwealth.

The parliamentary authorities in Swaziland, who have, naturally, been consulted, welcomed the proposal to present such a gift and a Speaker's Chair has been designed and manufactured. For the convenience of right hon. and hon. Members, the Chair is on display in the House.

If the House accepts the Motion, as I am sure it will wish to do, arrangements will be made by Mr. Speaker for a small delegation from the House to present the gift. We understand that the presentation can conveniently be made during the first week in September.

I therefore commend the Motion to the House in the expectation that it will be accepted as an expression of our friendship and good will towards the House of Assembly of Swaziland.

§ Mr. Ian Percival (Southport)

I rise only to support and welcome the Motion. I am, however, in a difficulty. We are entirely in agreement so there really is no necessity to say anything, but if we remain silent, this might be regarded by some as showing less than enthusiasm or something less than warm support for what is being done, and that would be as unfortunate an impression as it would be inaccurate.

On behalf of the Opposition, I wish to let it be known to those concerned that we do not join in this Motion as a formality, but with warmth and enthusiasm and in the hope that they accept 1655 this gift not as an isolated act, or an act of largesse or anything of the kind, but a symbol of our lasting regard for them.

We do not simply present this Chair and forget about it, and we hope that our friends will not simply receive it and forget about it. We hope that just as we in this House look with affection upon the furniture that was given to this House when it was rebuilt, by our friends of the Commonwealth, so, too, our friends in Swaziland will look at this piece of furniture with affection and as something which daily joins them closer to us. I appreciate that in absolute terms there is no necessity to say anything because we are in agreement, but I felt it necessary to say that because we want our friends there to know that we do not simply join in this as a formality.

We hope that this gift will give as much pleasure to those who receive it as it gives us in the giving of it.