MOTION FOR PAPERS. (Hansard, 29 July 1887)

§ EARL DE LA WARR
in rising to call attention to the Papers recently laid upon the Table of the He use relative to the proposed changes in the Government of Malta and especially to the Despatch of the Colonial Secretary; also to move— That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty for the Correspondence between the Governor of Malta and the late Director of Education; and also a Letter, dated 25th April, 1887, addressed to the Colonial Secretary by Dr. Mizzi, late Member of the Council of Government of Malta, said, that their Lordships had recently been put in possession of Papers relating affairs of Malta, a subject which he had on more than one occasion brought under the notice of the He use. They did not contain all the information that might have been desired, but there was much that was of importance. Great uneasiness, great friction, and, he might add, great discontent had for a considerable time prevailed among all classes of the population of Malta with regard to the existing form of government. He believed he should be borne out in this assertion by noble Lords who had held the Office of Colonial Secretary, and the question which had been for years agitated had now come to a crisis which could not be set at rest by a simple negative. He did not in any way desire to call in question the manner in which many able and distinguished men had discharged the important duties of Governor. From his own knowledge he could bear testimony to the interest which they had taken in the welfare of the population, which had most deservedly gained for them the highest esteem and respect. But it was the form of government which was called in 488 question. It was briefly this—that Malta had been governed as a Crown colony, as though it were a conquered or uncivilized country, and not as being a people who voluntarily placed themselves under British protection, believing that their ancient rights and privileges would be confirmed to them as British subjects. He could not express his views more clearly than in the words of the noble Earl below him (the Earl of Onslow) who represented the Colonial Office. The noble Earl said recently in his place— That, inasmuch as the island of Malta was not acquired by this country in the course of conquest, and inasmuch as the Maltese people of their own free will asked to be placed under the protection of the British Crown, this was a reason why they (the Imperial Government) should feel all the more bound to consider their reasonable and legitimate aspirations. He entirely agreed with the noble Earl; but He would ask, had those reasonable and legitimate aspirations been considered? It was more than 80 years since the Maltese became British subjects, yet they had been British subjects little more than in name; and now in this year of rejoicing, when the progress, the liberties, and the just rights of the people were being celebrated as the result of Her Majesty's illustrious reign, it was proposed again to place 150,000 British subjects under a military Government, with a shadow of a Constitution, and with a Council of Government of which a man of education and independence might well decline to form apart. In the despatch of the Colonial Secretary to the Governor, dated April 16, 1887, they found, as being a great concession in the direction of self-government, that a Financial Council was to be appointed, to which "will be submitted all votes of public money and all proposals for taxation and for public loans." That had long been one of the chief causes of discontent—that the elected Members of the Council of Government had not practically had control of the public money. It was true it was proposed that the eight elected Members of the Council of Government should be Members of the Financial Council, and its decisions on votes on public expenditure were to be final. But then followed a very important condition:— Unless in any case the rejection of a vote involves in the Opinion of the Governor direct injury to Imperial interests or to the safety of 489 the inhabitants of Malta or to the public credit of the island —a very wide field for the exercise of a discretionary power. And then what followed? If the vote was rejected by the Financial Council the question would he referred to the Council of Government, whose decision was to be final. Thus the proposal, as stated in the despatch, For the purpose of giving the representatives of the people a fuller and more definite control over the public expenditure and in financial matters generally, commenced with a Financial Council, leaving it in the power of the Governor to refer financial questions, when, in his opinion, it was desirable to do so, to the Council of Government, where the Governor, by means of a casting vote, had an absolute veto. This was certainly a very modified form of self-government in financial matters. Then they found under Clause 16 of the despatch— That the right of the unanimous opinion of the elected Members to prevail in the decision of questions of local interest in the Council of Government will be established by law. But here they were again met by a proviso in Clause 13 nullifying almost the supposed boon—namely, that this was— Not to apply to the case of a money vote referred to the Council by the Governor after being rejected by the Financial Council. This was the outline of a Constitution under which, as they were told— It cannot be denied that the people of Malta will enjoy a very substantial measure of self-government. He regretted that he could not see it in that light. It appeared to him that the substance was entirely wanting, and he should be only too happy if the noble Earl below him would point out where the substance lay. Neither could he agree with what followed:— That the changes thus proposed, though they may not satisfy those who advocate an extreme measure of reform, will fully meet the wishes of all moderate men who have at heart the real interests of the island. He very much demurred to that statement. It might, perhaps appear presumptuous in him, not being in possession of official information, to undertake to put before their Lordships what the state of feeling with regard to this question in Malta was, but he had no hesitation in saying, upon reliable authority, that the despatch of the Colonial Secre- 490 tary had been received by all classes with the utmost disappointment, and that it would not be regarded as in any way satisfying the reasonable demand which was made for some real and substantial measure of self-government. He was quite aware that the Colonial Office had not a very high opinion of what was described in the despatch from Downing Street as the "political capacity" of the people of Malta; but he was much mistaken if they did not well understand what self-government meant, and that what was now offered was not a reality; but very much of the nature of a delusion. And now he desired to express in the strongest manner, on his own part, and he believed he should not be wrong if he said the same on behalf of the people of Malta, that whatever changes might be made in the representation of the people in the Council of Government, and in the management of local affairs, there was not the slightest wish to interfere with the authority of the Governor in any matters relating to Malta as a fortress and naval station, but rather to place that entirely beyond the control of the Legislative Council for Civil Affairs. The Maltese were a loyal people; they valued their connection with the British Crown, and they relied upon the sympathy of the British Parliament in urging their demand that their just rights and liberties as British subjects should be granted to them. In conclusion, the noble Earl moved for Papers and additional Correspondence since the last Papers were laid upon the Table of the House.

§ LORD BRABOURNE
said, he had received a number of communications from Malta; but he doubted whether any benefit would accrue to the people of Malta by a discussion of the subject at the present time. For his own part, he should decline to criticize the despatches to which his noble Friend had alluded until the proposals of the Government had been finally settled. There were two considerations which always must prevail with Parliament in dealing with questions relating to Malta. In 491 the first place, there would always be a natural disposition to give effect, as far as possible, to the legitimate aspirations of the people for self-government. On the other hand, nothing must be done which in any way imperilled the position of Malta as an Imperial fortress, or the position of the Governor in charge of that fortress. The demands of the Maltese for self-government had been put forward in a moderate spirit, which gave him great hope for the future. Count Strickland had, from the first, taken a very wise, sensible, and moderate view in this matter, and he hoped that gentleman's counsels might have the result of reducing the demand of the Maltese to such a form that the Government might see their way to grant it. He, Count Strickland, had not only Maltese, but British sympathies, and whilst anxious to meet the wishes of his Maltese countrymen, would by no means be a party to anything to weaken the efficiency of British Rule. With regard to the Correspondence which had been moved for, he could not say anything about it until he knew what the view of the Government was. There had been a pamphlet published by the late Director of Education, M. Savona, and an answer to that pamphlet by the Governor, Sir L. Simmonds. He (Lord Brabourne) felt assured that the Government would deal with the question in a wise and generous spirit, and he would only say that if there were to be debates on the subject in that House it was desirable that their Lordships should have all the information and documents relating to the subject. If any further Correspondence were given by the Government, he hoped it would be of a complete character, so as to enable their Lordships to judge of the whole matter fully and justly. If representations were made by the Maltese in a moderate and wise spirit, he hoped the Government would give to them a favourable consideration.

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (The Earl of ONSLOW)
said, he did not propose to follow the noble Earl (The Earl De La Warr) into the earlier part of his speech, in which the noble Earl had dealt with the history of Malta, further than to say that he adhered entirely and unconditionally to everything he said upon a former occasion as to the desire of Her Majesty's Government to grant to Malta 492 such extension of representative government as could be done consistently with the safety of the fortress. The noble Earl said that the despatch to which he had alluded pointed to the consideration of the reasonable aspirations of the Maltese people, and then the noble Earl went on to ask whether those considerations had been taken into account. He thought an earnest desire had been shown in that despatch to moot the wishes of the people of Malta. He quite admitted what the noble Earl had said that the precise form of Constitution proposed by the Government had not been received with great favour in the island of Malta, and he did not wish to pledge the Government to the particular form in which the Constitution had been framed. They were desirous of affording every legitimate opportunity to the representatives of the Malteso people in the Council of Government for the conduct of their own affairs. There was one condition which Her Majesty's Government must insist upon, and that was that they must retain the power of final decision in the hands of the representative of the Queen on certain important matters. Nothing which was likely to cause injury to the Imperial interest, and nothing that was likely to injure the public credit of the island, could be left to the uncontrolled decision of the representatives of the people of Malta; but short of that, Her Majesty's Government were desirous of going as far as they could, to meet the wishes of the Maltese. There had been a large number of schemes put forward by different gentlemen, and all those schemes had been considered by Her Majesty's Government without reference to the character or antecedents of the gentlemen who put them forward. If any scheme had been connected with the names of statesmen and politicians in Malta, that scheme was considered with reference to its own merits, and its own merits alone. Her Majesty's Government thought there was in one of the schemes which had been submitted something which might be shaped to suit both the purposes of Her Majesty's Government and the desires of the people of Malta, and for that reason they proposed that there should be a separate assembly created in the Island of Malta which should have control of the finances of the colony. 493 That proposal, he was sorry to say, did not meet with the approval of the noble Earl and his friends. All he could say was that Her Majesty's Government put this forward some time before the elections in order to elicit the opinion of the noble Earl and his friends; but Her Majesty's Government were not wedded to this particular scheme for a financial Council. They were ready to consider any scheme which would attain the objects of the people of Malta. The elections in Malta ought to have taken place within three weeks of the dissolution of the Council, but the Government thought it advisable to issue letters patent in order to postpone them until this scheme or any further scheme should have been considered by the electors of the island. He was sure it would be a matter of satisfaction to their Lordships when he said that those in Malta who had given the greatest attention to this subject had given their approval to the course which he had indicated, and he thought there now appeared to be a disposition on the part of all those gentlemen to meet the views of Her Majesty's Government and to agree on some form of constitution which would be acceptable to all parties. At the present moment the Government were waiting for a despatch from the Governor, in which he promised to forward a scheme which had been submitted to him by friends of the noble Earl, and as soon as they received that scheme with the remarks of the Governor upon it, he hoped to be in a position to satisfy the noble Earl on this point. Meanwhile there was no objection to laying on the Table of the House the Correspondence which had taken place on the subject. He understood from the remarks of the noble Earl that he only wished for that portion of the Correspondence which dealt with the question of the new Constitution. If that was so, there could be no objection to laying it on the Table; but he would ask the noble Earl to withdraw his Motion now, in order that the Papers to be presented should be laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament by Her Majesty's command, instead of in compliance with an Address of their Lordships' House alone. He hoped that before next Session the Government would be able to satisfy the noble Earl and his friends by doing that which he assured 494 the noble Earl they were most anxious to do—namely, to offer such a representative Government to the people of Malta as might be consistent with the safety of the island.