COLONIAL NAVAL DEFENCE BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 18 January 1949)

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, it is pleasant to observe that something like the Christmas spirit seems to have lingered on into the present Sitting of the House. I do not know how long it 8 will last. I think I may assume that it will not go on for ever, but I shall try not to be the first speaker to dispel it. This small Bill—the Colonial Naval Defence Bill—aims at modernising the Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1931, which enables Colonial Governments to provide for the maintenance and use of warships, and for the service and discipline outside a Colony of a naval force raised within it. That was the limited scope of the Act of 1931. That Bill was also introduced in your Lordships' House, and in recommending it the noble Lord, Lord Passfield, who at the time was Secretary of State for the Colonies, confined his remarks to one column of the OFFICIAL REPORT, to the complete satisfaction of noble Lords opposite. I cannot undertake to be quite so brief, and I do not think your Lordships would wish me to deal so cursorily with a measure which will add something substantial to the fabric of Commonwealth naval defence. But any Bill designed to strengthen the defence of the Commonwealth, even in a small way, has always found support in all quarters of this House. Therefore, in submitting this measure for your Lordships' approval, I share the optimism and confidence felt by Lord Passfield at that time, when he allowed his Bill to do most of the speaking for itself.
The present Bill is required to adapt the 1931 Act to present day conditions, and to make it a more effective instrument in providing for the naval defence of our overseas dependencies. The 1931 Act applied only to the Colonies. It is now desirable that as many as possible of our dependent territories should play their part in the organisation of naval defence. We therefore propose in Clause 1 (3) of this Bill to apply the provisions of the 1931 Act to other territories in which His Majesty has jurisdiction—such, for example, as British Protectorates and Trust Territories. This will be particularly advantageous in East Africa, where Uganda is a Protectorate and Tanganyika, of course, is a Trust Territory. We also wish to ensure that all these territories have as much freedom as possible to combine with each other, and with their neighbours, in raising as well as maintaining naval forces. A Colony always had the power to raise a force within its own boundaries. The 1931 Act extended this power by enabling the Colony to 9 join with any other Colony for maintaining and using warships, and by allowing it to apply disciplinary provisions to a naval force raised in its own territory when operating outside that territory. But this Act did not enable the Colony to assist in raising a force in another territory, or in applying disciplinary provisions to a force so raised. This new and important power is conferred by Clause 1, subsection (2), of the Bill. For example, an inland Colony may wish to legislate for the establishment of a naval force in conjunction with a seaboard Colony, and this force would be established and maintained within the territorial waters of the second Colony.
During and since the last war, a pattern of regional co-operation has emerged throughout our overseas dependencies, and regional bodies have been set up to advise upon or to execute policy in matters of common concern to a number of neighbouring territories. For example, in East Africa the East African Central Assembly has been established as a common legislature to deal, amongst other matters, with the defence of this group of territories. Its members—namely, Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika—have agreed with Zanzibar, and made the necessary preliminary arrangements, to combine in the raising and maintenance of a regular full-time naval force, based at Mombasa. The main functions of the force will be coastal patrol, minesweeping and harbour control duties. The passage of this Bill will, through the application of Clause 1 (3) (b), make it possible for the East African Central Assembly to legislate for this purpose. Quite simply and briefly, these are the main objects of this Bill, which seeks to enable our dependencies overseas to make a larger contribution than hitherto to their naval defence. The other provisions of the Bill deal with lesser matters, and are mainly concerned with removing administrative difficulties experienced under the 1931 Act.
I will deal briefly with these lesser provisions. Under that Act, a Colonial Legislature must first provide for raising a naval force, and only after this has been done can it go on to obtain approval by Order in Council for further legislation to make its ships and their crews effective naval units. For example, fresh legislation would be required to put them under the enactments and regulations for the 10 enforcement of discipline in the Royal Navy, to make them liable for service and training outside the limits of the Colony, and to provide that they shall form part of the Royal Naval Reserve or the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. As a result, there was long delay in the completion of the legislation required to make a Colonial naval force effective, and much waste of official time and ingenuity before the necessary legislation had been enacted. We therefore propose to abolish the cumbersome procedure of the 1931 Act by enabling the powers in Clause 2 (1) of that Act to be exercised in advance of, but of course subject to, approval by Order in Council. This is the object of subsections (5) and (6) of Clause 1 of the present Bill.
Two other minor matters have also been dealt with. The Royal Fleet Reserve is part of the Royal Naval Reserve, although in practice it is treated by my noble friend the First Lord of the Admiralty as a separate force. The 1931 Act did not make it plain in terms that powers conferred on Colonies to provide that members of their naval forces should form part of the Royal Naval Reserve, or the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, should include powers to provide for their membership of any particular division of these forces, such as the Royal Fleet Reserve. Clause 1 (4) of the Bill is intended to remove any doubt on this point. It might also be desirable to maintain naval forces in inland waters—for example, on Lake Victoria or Lake Nyasa—and Clause 1 (7) has been inserted in the Bill to make it clear that the territorial waters of a Colony include any inland waters, as well as the waters adjoining the coast. So much for the contents of the Bill. I must apologise for dealing with some rather tiresome and minor administrative details, which are important, although they do not raise the issues of policy to which I referred at the outset of my remarks.
The next subject with which I should like to deal briefly does not, I admit, arise directly from the contents of the Bill, but, at the same time, in thinking over the presentation of this Bill, it occurred to me that it might interest your Lordships to hear something in broad outline about our plans for improving the naval defence of our overseas territories. The implementation of these plans 11 will be greatly facilitated by the passage of this Bill. Hitherto, only part-time naval forces similar to our own Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve have been established in certain Colonies. It is now our intention that at least some of the Colonial naval forces should be Regular and whole - time services, although of course they may also include a part-time element. These forces will be maintained by the Colonies at their own expense, but they will receive assistance from the Royal Navy in the provision of equipment, and in the selection of retired naval officers and ratings who will pass on their skill and experience to the Colonial Naval Forces.
In addition to the East African force, which we have in mind as a force that will be raised by the East African Colonies, plans are now well advanced for the raising by the Colony of Singapore of a Malayan Naval Force with a Regular full-time element and a Volunteer Reserve, which it is desired should carry out anti-piracy patrols in Malayan waters, in addition to minesweeping and ordinary harbour control duties. As a slightly longer-term project, the four West African Governments have been asked to consider a proposal that they should combine in the raising and maintenance of a small regular naval force on the lines of that already in prospect in East Africa. Other developments that we anticipate are the raising of a small naval force in Fiji, and the establishment of the naval component of the Hong Kong Defence Force. We also hope that similar action may be possible, of course in the rather more remote future, in the West Indies.
My Lords, this Bill is not a major Bill but it is of sonic importance, because it will enable our overseas dependencies to provide more effectively than hitherto for their naval defence. During the late war, a valuable contribution was made by the small local naval forces maintained in our Colonial territories. Although their duties were limited mainly to harbour defence, and local minesweeping and patrols in adjacent waters, they freed the forces of the Royal Navy from many wearisome tasks which would otherwise have inevitably fallen upon them; and they also played a substantial part in securing the safety of those world-wide bases which are vital to the exercise of our sea power. The creation under the 12 provisions of this Bill of Colonial naval forces in no way affects the resolve of His Majesty's Government that the ships of the Royal Navy will at all times be suitably disposed to safeguard the Colonies. We hope that the Colonies will continue to have good reason for the pride and affection they have always felt for the Royal Navy. Only recently we had an impressive demonstration of the feelings of the Colonial peoples when units of the Home Fleet carried out a cruise in the Caribbean. My noble friend the First Lord of the Admiralty can bear witness to this from his own first-hand experience.
I am informed by the Governor that in Trinidad people in all walks of life vied with each other in their efforts to entertain the officers and ratings, who left many friends when they departed for home. The Navy responded in kind by throwing the ships open to public inspection and thousands of shore visitors availed themselves of this opportunity. Visits to other Colonies in the Caribbean were equally popular, and where harbour facilities were inadequate for the larger vessels the ships passed close inshore during, daylight, in order that the inhabitants might have a chance of seeing the Fleet. Many thousands lined the waterfront to watch the ships go by. Such is the spirit, shared alike by the peoples of our overseas Dependencies and the officers and men of the Royal Navy, which makes possible the successful execution of a joint defence policy. By giving the peoples of our overseas Dependencies a greater opportunity to play their full part in naval defence, we are trying to strengthen that old and traditional co-operation between the senior and the junior partners in the maritime defensive system which helps now, as it has always done in the past, to safeguard the freedom of the Colonies. My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time.

LORD TEYNHAM
My Lords, we on this side of the House certainly welcome this Bill. It is, of course, a further recognition of the part played by the Colonies in the defence of the British Commonwealth. It appears, I think, from the explanation given by the noble 13 Earl who has presented the Bill, that it extends the power of a Colony to join together not only with another Colony but with a Protectorate or Dependency with a view to the establishment of a naval force. That is, of course, an extension of the policy of grouping Colonies together for administrative purposes which was foreshadowed in the Imperial Charter. In the past, the Mother Country has always been most grateful for the help given to her by her Colonies, which, in most cases, as your Lordships are aware, was by means of a monetary contribution. Now, perhaps, we may see the gradual emergence of a Colonial Navy. Such a Navy will entail much greater responsibility and a much greater liability on the Colonies concerned; that will certainly be a very welcome addition to Colonial recognition of the need for playing their full share in matters of defence, and we feel sure it will be very much appreciated in this country. There is no doubt that the spectacle of a man-o'-war, or a number of ships, actually owned by a group of Colonies will be a great stimulation to local patriotism—a greater stimulation, I would suggest, than the knowledge of any monetary contribution.
With regard to subsection (4) of Clause 1, which deals with service in the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, I hope the intention is that, so far as possible, the conditions of service should conform to those obtaining in this country. I would suggest that service in the Royal Navy is undoubtedly a very good training ground for Colonial peoples, and one which affords them a background of education and discipline which will be valuable to them in after life. It may not be perhaps generally known that at the end of the last war there were something over 15,000 Colonial seamen serving in the Royal Navy. I am sure your Lordships will be very glad to hear from the noble Earl who introduced this Bill that before long we may see the emergence of a Malayan Navy and an East African and West African Navy, and also, perhaps, a Navy from Fiji and the West Indies. We welcome this Bill, and I am sure we all hope that it will forge a further link in Colonial naval defence.

§ EARL HOWE
My Lords, I had not intended to speak on this Bill, but arising 14 from the noble Earl's remarks there is one point which occurs to me—namely, the question of the training that is to be provided for these forces. The noble Earl suggested that in order that these forces may attain their maximum efficiency—and it will be a pure waste of money if they do not—a staff of retired naval officers is to be employed in training them. Nobody can pay a greater tribute to the retired naval officer than I do, but if he has been out of the service for a period of years he is apt to get out of touch. I therefore hope to be assured that the noble Earl will not necessarily confine the officers employed on training to retired naval officers. I cannot help feeling that in order to secure maximum efficiency and co-ordination with the Royal Navy itself, it may be of advantage to include in the service officers of the Royal Navy. Nobody welcomes this Bill more than I do; I am sure it is of the greatest possible value. But the efficiency obtained from any Reserve formation in the Royal Navy (be it R.N.V.R. or R.N.R., or whatever it may be), depends entirely upon how much training can be given it; and that means training with modern weapons. I hope that these few points will be borne in mind. Subject to that, I entirely endorse what has been said by my noble friend.

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, in reply to the noble Earl, Lord Howe, I should like to say that of course it is our intention that these Colonial naval units should have absolutely up-to-date training, and that they should be au fait with all the latest technical developments. The selection of the right type of officer to train them will clearly depend on this general principle of giving them a modern and up-to-date training. I can assure the noble Earl that the task of training will not be confined only to old "sea-dogs" who might, perhaps, be regarded as being a trifle out of date in their outlook. I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Teynham, for the very generous welcome which he has extended to this Bill on behalf of the Opposition. We appreciate it very much, particularly because the noble Lord himself speaks with so much experience of naval matters. I think there is nothing further for me to say beyond commending the Bill to your Lordships for a Second Reading.