§ LORD DAVIESMy Lords, I beg to ask the question standing on the Paper in my name.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in view of the moral and material assistance which is being afforded to our war effort by the Government and people of the United States of America, they will grant the status of British citizenship for the duration of the war to American citizens residing in or visiting Great Britain and exempt them from the restrictions and regulations applied to aliens.]
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA AND BURMA (THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE)My Lords, I am sure it is unnecessary for me to emphasize the immense appreciation felt by His Majesty's Government for, if I may use the noble Lord's own words, the moral and material assistance which is being afforded to our war effort by the Government and people of the United States of America. Nor need I repeat what has been said at other times and in other places as to the desire of the Government to give the most liberal treatment possible to citizens of the United States and other friends of this country who are either residing here or are here on a visit.
With this object in view all the orders imposing restrictions on aliens provide that exemptions will be granted in individual cases. My right honourable friend informs me that this has been proved a more satisfactory method of dealing with the problem than granting wholesale exemptions to persons of any one nationality. Such a policy would inevitably lead to invidious distinctions being drawn between the many friends and loyal Allies of this country who are anxious to serve the allied cause. But I can assure the noble Lord opposite that the authorities charged with the administration of the Aliens Order have received 1001 special instructions to give sympathetic treatment to persons such as citizens of allied countries or of the United States in whose case there is a special presumption that their sympathies are with this country. He, however, assures me that the wholesale exemption of the citizens of any State would be impracticable and would cause very considerable administrative difficulties.
The noble Lord has made a very interesting suggestion that the status of British citizenship should be granted for the duration of the war to United States citizens residing in or visiting this country. I have two comments to make upon that suggestion. One is that British citizenship not only confers privileges and rights, but it also involves duties, and in time of war they are very heavy and onerous duties. They are those of either serving in the Armed Forces or under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, 1941, in a civilian capacity in furtherance of the war effort. It is, of course, open to any United States citizen to volunteer for service in His Majesty's Forces, but volunteering for such a service is on a very different footing from being under an absolute liability to serve in whatever capacity the powers that be may consider most appropriate.
There is another consideration and that is, that while we are all stirred by the extent and generosity of the help which America is providing, and while we are all full of gratitude for the whole-hearted help that we are receiving from American citizens, we think there are many of them who would prefer to retain their American citizenship and who, although 100 per cent. interested in our war effort, would have no desire to become citizens of a country which after all is not theirs. If I may given an example, the noble Lord himself rather more than a. year ago did very excellent and distinguished work in visiting Finland, and I have no doubt he, 1002 like all of us, was 100 per cent. with the Finns, and full of boundless admiration for their splendid courage and the magnificent fight they made; yet I never heard that on that occasion he wished to cease to be an Englishman and become a Finn. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary, therefore, does not consider that the suggestion in the noble Lord's question is a practicable one; but he does authorise me to say that the Government and the Department on whose behalf I am speaking are most anxious to treat as liberally as possible and as generously as the dictates of security permit, all foreign nationals residing in this country who are its friends or Allies, and that steps have been taken to provide a system of individual exemptions.
§ LORD DAVIESMay I ask the noble Duke whether those exemptions will be accorded to those foreigners who are now engaged in helping us in war duties?
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIREYes I think those are the very people my right honourable friend refers to as being citizens of allied countries or of the United States in whose case there is a special presumption that their sympathies are with this country.