§ LORD ORANMORE AND BROWNE had given Notice to ask His Majesty's Government whether replies have been, received from the self-governing Dominions to the communications addressed to them by the Colonial Office during the autumn of 1924 on the subject of the naturalization of the children of British subjects born abroad during the period of the War, and if the answer be in the negative, what further steps His Majesty's Government propose to take in order to remove the disabilities under which these children are suffering owing to the hostilities in operation at the time of their birth.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I need not detain your Lordships at any great length in asking this Question, 1053 because I have already raised the subject on three occasions in this House and on all those occasions I have been fortunate enough to secure the sympathy of noble Lords on both sides of the House. When the Labour Party was in power my noble friend Lord Parmoor asked me to introduce a Bill dealing with the subject, and although, when I asked the Question last year, my noble friend Lord Desborough apparently had not such complete reliance on my ability to introduce suitable legislation, he, at any rate, was extremely sympathetic on the subject.
§ As I understood at that time he considered it was not a matter merely of national concern, but rather of Imperial concern, so that it was necessary to consult the self-governing Dominions, and communications had already passed with them in the autumn of 1924. It is now one year and nine months since those communications were made, and I venture to submit that there has been sufficient time not only for the matter to be considered by the Dominions but also for a reply to be received from them. I cannot speak with authority, but I have reason to believe that replies have been received from all the self-governing Dominions, with the exception of one. I am sure that that great Dominion is not really negligent of the interests of her fellow subjects in other parts of the Empire. It may be that by the pressure of other matters this has escaped attention. I venture to suggest to the Government that they might remind this Dominion that an answer is desirable.
§ I hope my noble friend who replies to this Question will not tell me that it is going to be referred to the Imperial Conference, because, although it is a question of very real importance to a certain number of His Majesty's subjects, I think it is not of sufficient importance to make certain that it will be considered at that Conference. Moreover, I saw a statement in the newspapers that owing to Election troubles in the Dominion to which I have referred it may not be represented with the same authority as other Dominions will be represented at the Conference.
§ I should like to call the attention of the Government to the fact that, while we have been sleeping, the children who are specially affected by this legislation, 1054 or the want of legislation, have been growing up. The question affects children who were born between August 4, 1914, and the summer of 1919. The eldest of these children will be now nearly twelve years of age and the younger ones eight years. The time is coming when a great many of them will come to this country for their education, and there is a certain amount of humiliation, both to them and to their parents, that they may not enter as British subjects, but have to undergo all the preliminaries of answering questions which are necessary in the case of aliens in order to satisfy the authorities here that they may properly be admitted.
§ I know the question is very acutely felt by many of our very loyal fellow subjects abroad who are doing good work for British trade in various parts of the world. I have had endless communication from individuals, and resolutions have been passed by British Chambers of Commerce in various parts of the world. I do hope that the answer of the noble Lord will be of a nature which will let these people know that the matter is really receiving the consideration of the Government, that they fully realise that it only affects a small number of people, that it can easily be relieved, that it does not affect the general question of nationalisation, and that they will do their utmost in as short a time as possible to relieve the anxiety of those parents who fear that their children will never become in the same position as the natural born.
§ LORD DESBOROUGHMy Lords, I am afraid the premonitions of my noble friend are very likely to be realised. As he is very well aware, the question of nationality is now an Imperial question. I am happy to inform him that replies have been received on the subject from the Governments of all the self-governing Dominions with the exception of the Government of Canada. The proposal that the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914, should be amended so as to provide facilities for the acquisition of British nationality by the children of the third generation born abroad of British parents during the War is among the nationality questions proposed for discussion at the forthcoming Imperial Conference. Any decision as to the possi- 1055 bility of legislation on this subject must, I am afraid, be deferred until that Conference has been held.
LORD ORANMORE AND BROWNEMay I ask, as a supplementary question, whether there will be any opportunity for those deeply interested in this matter, such as British Chambers of Commerce which represent British communities in foreign towns, to make some representations to the Imperial Conference?
§ LORD DESBOROUGHI will ascertain the answer to that question and will let my noble friend have it. I am afraid I cannot answer it off-hand.