GOLD COAST CONSTITUTION (Hansard, 19 October 1949)

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ VISCOUNT HALL
My Lords, the Report will be published before the end of this month, and my right honourable friend the Secretary of Sate proposes to make a statement at the time of publication.

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
My Lords, that is a very concise and clear answer, but, after the admonitions of the noble Viscount the Leader of the House, I hope that I shall not be transgressing if I venture to ask whether it is not a fact that the answer entirely ignores the 943 second and more important part of my Question on the Paper, which is: …whether the Government will give an undertaking that decisions will not be taken on the Report until Parliament has had an opportunity of discussing it. May I ask for an answer to that question—which has been on the Paper for four or five days?

§ VISCOUNT HALL
My Lords, I am afraid that I did ignore the second part of the Question, but it was not done by design at all. It is impossible for me to give an answer. I would ask the noble Viscount to await the statement to which I have just referred and which I cannot anticipate.

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
My Lords, with great respect, this is a vital question. I hope I shall not be called to order if I say that the record of the Colonial Office with regard to the Gold Coast has not been altogether happy. The noble Viscount will remember that we have had a number of debates in which the noble Viscount the Leader of the House most helpfully intervened. As the result of those debates an important decision on the Gold Coast had to be reopened and was, I hope, satisfactorily settled. I am not asking the noble Viscount to say what will be in the statement when it is issued; nor am I asking that the Government statement shall not contain the Government's opinion on the Report. What I do ask—and unless I can have an answer to-day I shall have to return to the subject—is that on this very important matter we shall not be faced with a fait accompli brought about by some Government Order made here or in the Gold Coast, and that Parliament shall have an opportunity of discussing the Report and the Government's proposed action upon it before that action is taken. That, I think, is a very reasonable question.

§ VISCOUNT ADDISON
I accept fully the reasonableness of what the noble Viscount says. I promise that I will myself see the Secretary of State and do my best to see that the commitment to which the noble Viscount refers is not entered into before a discussion can be held. I say I will do my best to look into the matter without delay and report to the noble Viscount; but I cannot, of course, give any definite promises.

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
I am much obliged to the noble Viscount for that characteristic statement.