St. Christopher and Nevis (Hansard, 1 July 1988)

§ Sir William Clark (Croydon, South)

At the beginning of this month, you, Mr. Speaker, commissioned the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Grant), the Principal Clerk, Mr. Charles Winnifrith, and myself to present a Speaker's chair and desk on behalf of the House of Commons to the state of St. Christopher and Nevis in the Caribbean. Mr. Winnifrith was a great help and he guided us with great efficiency through the various formalities, for which we were most grateful.

When we arrived at St. Kitts, as it is called, we were met by the clerk to the National Assembly, Mr. Alfonso Lewis, who was most helpful throughout our stay, and we owe him our thanks. On Tuesday 7 June the Speaker, Mr. Speaker Buchanan, warmly welcomed us, and the hon. Member for Tottenham and I made short speeches thanking them for their kindness and presented the chair and desk on behalf of the House of Commons. As you know, Mr. Speaker, the chair and desk are magnificent pieces of furniture made in Sussex oak.

The Parliament in St. Kitts is continuously broadcast, but it does not meet as often as our Parliament and I do not think that many people heard our speeches. We had some competition because a test match was being played, and West Indians are probably more interested in test matches than in listening to politicians.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Kennedy Simmonds, gave us a warm welcome. He made an extremely good speech, thanked us and moved a resolution, which, with your permission, Mr. Speaker, I shall read out: Be it resolved that this honourable House expresses its appreciation to the House of Commons for its gift of the Speaker's Chair and Desk to this honourable House in recognition of the attainment of independence in St. Christopher and Nevis on 19 September 1983. Be it resolved that this House recognises the longstanding relationship between the Government and the people of the United Kingdom and St. Christopher and Nevis and looks forward to the strengthening of these links through a bilateral arrangement or through the Commonwealth and other international organisations. That resolution was dated 7 June 1988 and was signed by Alfonso Lewis, Clerk of the National Assembly.

St. Kitts and Nevis are interesting islands. I am fortunate because I know them fairly well as I was the director of a sugar factory in St. Kitts and consequently visited the island many times. The island has a long history with the United Kingdom. Many battles were fought between the French and the English and a fort, Brimstone Hill, has been refurbished and restored. It is worth visiting St. Kitts just to see Brimstone Hill if nothing else. The restoration has been carried out by Mr. Lloyd Matheson, and he should be congratulated.

The economy of the island is good and tourism is growing. However, the sugar production is not in good heart because cane cutters are difficult to find and more mechanical harvesters are needed.

We visited Nevis, which is about three miles from St. Kitts, at the invitation of its premier, Dr. Simeon Daniel. We should like to thank him for his hospitality and kindness. The independence that has been granted to St. Kitts and Nevis is unusual because, although there is one assembly, the Nevisians have the right to secede from St. Kitts if they wish.

633 Our visit to Nevis coincided with the inaugural meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and on 8 June Nevis joined that association as a full member. It may be that the hon. Member for Tottenham and myself are founder members of that association and, consequently, if there are any further trips, I believe that founder members may have to go. That is something for the future.

We spent an interesting day at Nevis and saw the entry for the marriage between Admiral Lord Nelson and the widow Mrs. Fanny Nisbet, which was interesting.

Speaker Buchanan sends his greetings to you, Mr. Speaker. We delivered your letter to him and I have one for you in return. I also have in my possession the resolution and I shall hand that, together with the letter, to you, Mr. Speaker, after the hon. Member for Tottenham has spoken. Speaker Buchanan is coming to this country later this month for the tercentenary celebrations of the Bill of Rights and we look forward to seeing him again.

May I say on behalf of the delegation that it was a great honour for my colleagues and Ito be the emissaries of the House of Commons. The Kittians and Nevisians have a deep feeling of friendship for this country. We told the National Assembly that the gifts of the chair and the desk will be a constant reminder of the bond of friendship between St. Kitts, Nevis and the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Bernie Grant (Tottenham)

I agree with everything that the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Sir W. Clark) has said—and it is not often that I do that. The hon. Gentleman's knowledge of the St. Kitts and Nevis region was helpful to the delegation. I felt rather strange because the hon. Gentleman knew more about those islands in the Caribbean than I, and I come from that part of the world.

I was grateful to the House for giving me the opportunity to visit the islands and especially to my colleagues in the parliamentary Labour party who had the foresight to send someone who came from that region. I believe that that was the first time it had happened, but I hope that it is not the last.

We received excellent treatment from the parliamentarians and officers of St. Kitts and Nevis. Our hosts were extremely generous, and we were taken on a tour of the island. We were met by the Prime Minister and a number of other dignitaries. In Nevis we met the deputy governor general, who is more British than the normal West Indian.

We were especially pleased to present the gift, which was excellent. It has brightened up the atmosphere within the House of Assembly, and the parliamentarians were extremely pleased that the British Parliament should see fit to give them such an excellent gift. They were extremely pleased to welcome me as I am from that region. I believe that they were especially pleased that someone who originated in that area was able to come back to present such a gift.

As the hon. Member for Croydon, South said, St. Kitts is faced with some difficulties regarding its sugar cane crop. We understand that this year, because of a lack of cane cutters and mechanical harvesters, it will lose 50,000 tonnes of cane. That is a tremendous blow, but, as the hon. Gentleman said, the economy is strong and tourism is good. The island hopes that any revenue that might be lost from sugar cane production will be made up from tourism.

634 We visited Nevis, which is one of the most beautiful islands of the Caribbean. Mount Misery, which belies its name, is extremely beautiful. The top of the mountain is covered by clouds and snow. The Nevisians are fiercely independent and, as the hon. Member for Croydon, South said, they are proud of the fact that they may secede from St. Kitts should the need arise. We were there for the inaugural meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and we forced ourselves to become honorary members. We hope that we will be able to go back to celebrate the first anniversary of Nevis's membership of the CPA.

I took the opportunity to visit the colony of Anguilla, which declared independence some time ago. I believe that the representative from the British Government was chased off the island and the Government quickly sent troops and a squad of London bobbies to restore order. I am pleased to say that now all is calm on the island.

I met the governor of that island and I was invited to the Queen's birthday parade, which is one of the relics of the old Commonwealth days. I was pleased to visit the island and I was cordially met by the Chief Minister and others.

On my visit, a number of residents took the opportunity to raise the problem of wild dogs, which apparently roam the countryside killing sheep and injuring people. I have tabled a question to the Foreign Office about that matter, and I hope that I shall receive a satisfactory answer in due course.

I also wish to thank the staff of the British high commission and, in particular, the deputy high commissioner, Mr. Brian Taylor, and his wife. Not only did they look after the delegation, but they looked after me for about four hours while I was waiting to change planes at Antigua. May I also thank the official of the high commission in Trinidad who met me at the airport and made sure that I was able to get through without any difficulties.

I was very pleased and proud to represent the British Parliament in that part of the world, and I look forward to many similar trips.