CYPRUS

HL Deb 23 February 1954 vol 185 cc1068-98

4.2 p.m.

LORD WINSTER rose to call attention to affairs in Cyprus; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have noticed over a considerable period of time that Cyprus is rarely mentioned in Parliament. Over a period of some six years there have been just a handful of Questions in another place, and the only reference to Cyprus in your Lordships' House has been a reference from a strategic point of view that I made in a debate not long ago. I have felt it proper to remain silent on the subject during the period of office of my successor. Sir Andrew Wright has now completed his term of office, leaving behind him, if I may say so with great respect, a record in the form of addresses to the Executive Council which points to wise guidance and steady progress during his Governorship. I think that perhaps I ought to mention that I have had no conversation with Sir Andrew Wright's successor on the matters which I am going to raise this afternoon, except briefly to wish him the best of good fortune in the office which he has taken up. May I also say to your Lordships that I am sure that the Cypriots themselves, though they may not agree with all that is said, will greatly appreciate the fact that their affairs are attracting the attention of your Lordships' House. On that account I share the regret which I am sure will be felt in Cyprus that no supporter of the Government, except the Minister who is going to be good enough to reply, has found it convenient to intervene in this debate to-day.

The first thing I should like to refer to is the disastrous earthquakes which afflicted the island last year. They struck at one of the most beautiful parts of a beautiful island, and they brought suffering and distress to some of the most deserving and most industrious inhabitants of Cyprus. As it happened, the Governor was absent when those earthquakes occurred. He speedily returned, of course, but in his absence the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Fletcher Cook, rose most admirably to the situation and was supported in doing so with great ability and competence by the Commissioner for the districts and the officers of the health service. I am sure all noble Lords would wish to commend them for their remarkable service at that distressing time. In that connection I should also like to mention the work of succour which was done by Her Majesty's Navy. The arrangements for relief and help went with that smoothness and efficiency which we associate with anything that Admiral Mountbatten undertakes. He now has very considerable experience of earthquakes, and if I am ever involved in one, I hope that the Admiral may be around. I think that, after fighting, the thing that a sailor does best is to bring help and assistance wherever a great calamity has visited some part of the globe. I know that the humanity, the genuine kindness and cheerfulness of the sailors on this occasion is something which will he long remembered in Cyprus.

What I want to say this afternoon I am dividing into two parts: first, administration; then after I have mentioned a few facts in regard to our administration of the island, I will deal with the political questions which distract it. We took over the island in 1878, and since then we have accomplished great achievements. Let me enumerate just a few of them, as briefly as possible. When we took over, there were two two-wheeled vehicles on the island. Interior communications were by path and mule track. There are now over 700 miles of asphalted roads, 1,800 miles of secondary roads and a network of forest roads. Secondary and forest roads may perhaps sound primitive, as roads go, but I happen to know that over every mile of these roads the largest car which the Daimler Company make can be driven in perfect safety and complete comfort. I think these facts point to a remarkable achievement in road-making. As regards exterior communications, so greatly have we improved the economy of the country that to-day no fewer than thirty-four shipping lines find it worth their while to call regularly at Cyprian ports. A modern, completely up-to-date air terminal has been built, and the air traffic increases monthly. The island is now in swift and rapid communication with every other part of the world. So much for communications.

As regards health services, every big town has its hospital, and there are no fewer than fifty doctors employed. There are travelling medical clinics and a travelling dental clinic. So good is this service that not one of the 620 villages of the island is more than an hour's travel from skilled medical and surgical help. It is a great pleasure to see how quickly the women of Cyprus have taken to child welfare work. The leper establishment and mental hospital have both been moved to admirable sites, and the most modern treatment is given to these unfortunate people. The death rate in Cyprus is the second lowest in the world. But what stands out above everything else in regard to these health services is the victory over malaria. At one time, quite recently, in a village sixteen miles from the capital of the island, the incidence of malaria was 100 per cent.; but to-day you cannot find a case there. The malaria-carrying mosquito has been eliminated from the island. If the noble Earl, Lord Munster, will allow me to say so, I do not think Dr. Shelley, the Director of Medical Health Services at the time, who directed the campaign, and Mr. Aziz, who was responsible for the field work involved, have ever received adequate recognition for their remarkable services in this respect. With regard to justice, that is swiftly and impartially administered. That was not always the case. The prison adheres to every modern recommendation on the subject of prisons—diet, hygiene, recreation, and the work that the prisoners do. It is a great pleasure to see, and reflects the greatest credit on those concerned. I have mentioned recreation, and I may say that the army have found the prison team formidable opponents on the football field.

However, the matter to which I would call particular attention this afternoon is agriculture. The economy of Cyprus is 80 to 90 per cent. agricultural, and that is the main employment of the inhabitants of the island. Two things in the past have been the curse of agriculture in Cyprus: first, the free-ranging goats and, secondly, soil erosion. The forests have been ravaged by these, free-ranging goats, and literally millions of pounds worth of damage has been done by those animals: the forests have been destroyed, and the understory eaten. The water catchment area has consequently been destroyed, and there has followed soil erosion and infertility. Now, thanks to the work of two devoted and skilful conservators of forests, the forests are being restored. Now, too, thanks to the patient propaganda which these conservators have carried out on the subject, the free-ranging goat is steadily being replaced by the tethered goat, and in this way a valuable asset is being restored to the island. With regard to soil erosion, the officers of the department of agriculture have been carrying on steady educational work about contour ploughing and terraced agriculture. Great strides have been made, and I hope that the day will come, in the not too distant future, when we shall cease to go up into the hills when the rains come and see some of the best soil of Cyprus staining the sea for three-quarters of a mile offshore, which is the melancholy sight we see to-day.

The island is studded with a system of research and educational stations—agricultural, horticultural and viticultural. New strains of livestock have been introduced, with the result that Cyprian mules and donkeys are now regarded as the finest in the Mediterranean, and in one year alone we exported 5,000 of them. Mechanised farming is making steady headway. In all these respects great work is being done, and T feel that the successive Directors of Agriculture deserve a great meed of praise, not only for their own work, but for the work which they have encouraged in their officers. Water is life in Cyprus, and year by year the Water Department carries out work after work which adds to the welfare and amenity of the island. A very small amount of work, costing perhaps £300 or £400, may add 400 or 500 acres to the cultivable area. One only has to see it for oneself to realise what the bringing of a piped water supply may mean to some of the villages, which from time immemorial have never enjoyed such a thing. Work is going forward in covering the island with an electric grid, a most remarkable enterprise; and when that is completed light and power will be brought to every village in Cyprus, to the great benefit of their agriculture and, also, their domestic life.

On the matter of education, 15 per cent, of the island's budget is devoted to that subject. In 700 elementary schools, 1,500 teachers teach 62,000 pupils: in 50 secondary schools, 500 teachers teach 13,000 pupils. The Cypriots have a quick and lively intelligence, and anything we can do to satisfy the real demand that exists for education will redound greatly to our prestige in the island. As to the general economy, overseas trade has tripled in five years: and at the present moment it is ten times what it was in pre-war. The Cyprus Government, with great foresight, have spent £12 million on public services which are essential to industry, in order to attract industry to the island. For instance, there has been considerable expenditure on the modernisation of the three main ports. The range of industry is very wide indeed, covering asbestos, mining in many forms, brewing, wine, cement, cigarettes, animal feeding-stuffs; and in addition, the agricultural exports of barley, potatoes, locust beans, grapes, citrus fruit and dried fruits. I would mention that the Cypriot workman is very versatile: there are few strikes, and there is a Department of Labour in the charge of a most experienced officer who has conciliation machinery at his disposal.

I would mention one other industry, and that is, the tourist industry. That has been bounding ahead now for years, and I am afraid that in the near future the tourist industry will have outstripped the hotel industry. The noble Lord, Lord Mancroft, said the other day that there was an opening for a noble Lord to invent a teacup which would not break. Here, there is an opening for someone to erect a large hotel in Cyprus, because at the rate the tourist trade is growing such an enterprise could not fail to be remunerative. So much for what I want to say about the administrative side of the work—I hope that I have not gone into too much detail. I feel that I can fairly say that it is work in which all of us here at home can take great pride, as one of Britain's great achievements in Colonial administration.

I now come to a more difficult and regrettable side of the picture—namely, the political situation in Cyprus. That is dominated entirely by the Enosis movement for union with Greece. It is a movement which provides a common platform for the Church and the Communists, which I think must probably be exceptional over the whole of the world. I must confess that I was interested to see this liking up at a period when the civil war was raging in Greece, and there were times when one felt that the war might have gone either way: it might have come down on the side of the Communists or the Royalists, and I always wondered how these rather strange bedfellows would react to a victory for either side.

There is one point I should like to make clear about that matter, and I am sure your Lordships will be generally aware of it. The more fanatical supporters of Enosis are apt to press for the "restoration of the island to the maternal bosom of Hellas." That requires a little analysis. Even if Cyprus ever did go to Greece, it would not be a return, to Greece. Greece has never owned or administered Cyprus. I want to be strictly fair about this. I think the Greeks have sonic shadowy claim, based on the division of the Roman Empire into cast and west. I believe that at that time the Greeks did feel that some right to Cyprus accrued to them. In fact the matter is mentioned by Gibbon, but, de facto, I think I am quite fair in saying that Greece has never owned or administered the island. Nor have the Cypriots ever really had self-government. One hook I have read said that in olden times the Cypriots once or twice had a short period of self-government, but again I do not think that was of such a nature as to enable us to say de facto that the Cypriots have ever governed their own island.

On the other hand, a great many other people have. The Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Persians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Franks, the Venetians, the Turks and, finally, the English, have all owned and administered the island. Of all those who have governed the island, the English brought with them a completely new idea—the idea that the island was inhabited by Cypriots, a fact which seems to have escaped the notice of their predecessors, and that the interests of the inhabitants of the island should be considered in such matters as education, in relief from crushing taxation, and the idea of a Legislative Council with a Cypriot majority, freedom, security and respect for human dignity and human rights. These were all novel and strange ideas that the British brought with them to Cyprus.

To skip a good long period of time, the reward for trying to bring these new ideas were the events of 1931, when Government House was burnt down. As a result of those disturbances, the Governor of the island has since had to govern with the aid of an Executive Council, composed, in my experience, of certain of his officials and of two Greek Cypriots and one Turkish Cypriot. We need not be mealy-mouthed about this matter. It is not a system of government that one likes at all. Nobody in these days would choose such a system of government for one moment. It is a system of government under which the Governor has no means of appealing to public opinion. There is no way in which he can reply to any propaganda, and there is no way in which he can advocate the policy of Her Majesty's Government. There is now a broadcasting system, but no one would wish to see the Governor of the island engaging in a running debate on the radio with his political opponents. I repeat that it is a system which is forced upon us and not one of our own choosing—on the contrary, it is one which we are most anxious to reform.

The late Labour Government made a determined effort to got the Cypriots to make a new start. They said, "Certainly the Archbishop shall return," and they conceded that there should be the election of an ArchbiShop and, of course, the accompanying hierarchy. They gave large sums of money in the form of a development grant spent over a period of ten years, and they invited the Cypriots to come together in a consultative assembly to assist in drafting a liberal Constitution for the island. I am not aware of the facts in this connection, but I feel there can have been few instances of one of our Colonies being asked itself to assist in drafting the Constitution under which it was to live. Art any rate, we had in view a Constitution which would give full expression to public opinion, paving the way to that self government which is the declared Colonial policy of all political Parties in this country.

The reply to these offers was a complete boycott by the Church. I do not know whether or not history ever records much good for a country resulting from the activities of political prelates, but at any rate that was what we encountered when we brought those offers—complete boycott by the Church and any form of co-operation whatever rejected by the Archbishop. As one instance of how far that refusal went, I may tell your Lordships that in connection with alterations to the system in the prison I had an invitation addressed to the Archbishop to ask him whether he would nominate one of the board of prison visitors. I did this because the rather scurrilous Press of Cyprus was almost daily publishing accounts of prisoners being flogged to death to give the Governor an appetite for his breakfast, of men being done to death in dungeons and starved, and that sort of thing. It was all so completely untrue that I addressed this invitation to the Archbishop. I should have thought that that was a fair thing to offer. Even that was refused. That will give the measure of the opposition of the boycott —the refusal to co-operate which we met with from the Archbishop. Through his efforts the consultative assembly was wrecked. We could not even make any progress with local government. Apart from destroying the consultative assembly and the hope of a Constitution, the Church and the Communists simply dug their heels in and said, "Enosis or nothing."

There was only one course left open to the British Government in that situation, and that was to say, "If you will not go on with the work of the consultative assembly and draft a Constitution, then things must go on as they are." They also said, "The offer is not withdrawn. At any time whatever, if any body of responsible Cypriots likes to come to us and say, 'We should like to go on where we left off,' we will have no recrimination and no and we will start straight away." That offer was left open, but I emphasise that it was open if responsible Cypriots asked for it, for the display of irresponsibility which attended the last attempt towards a Constitution makes that qualification, in my opinion, an essential requirement in renewing that work. I wish, with all my heart, that we could get off this dead centre. Hardly a week goes by without my thinking about these things, exercising my brain upon them, and trying to find some way out of the impasse with which we are confronted.

However, there are some very difficult features in the situation, and it is no good ignoring them. Never having governed themselves, and having at times been governed very harshly and unjustly, Cypriots have developed some of the characteristics of the governed. They have no acquaintance with the art of government, which is not easy to learn. Moreover, there is in them a strong streak of reluctance to express their political feelings and opinions in public—they are what we call "cagey" about that; they dread revealing their inmost thoughts about politics. The other characteristic, of course, is their fear of taking responsibility, especially political responsibility. I ask your Lordships not to judge them too harshly on this matter because, as I say, they are qualities which result from the long centuries of subjection which has been their lot. These things are inherent in their history, and I do not blame them. I only deeply regret their refusal Ito let us develop in them the qualities of which fate has deprived them.

For instance—these are days of nationalism—I very much wish that we could see the young Cypriot aspiring to self-government. He is a man of lively and quick intelligence. I should like to see him aspire to self-government in his island and to a place in that Government. It would be a great pleasure to guide and encourage him along such lines. But all he aspires to is merely to have yet one more ruler—to exchange one ruler for another. There is no thought of independence for his country, with its great history, which was once a jewel in mediæval civilisation. There is no thought of restoring those things—merely, as I say, a desire to exchange one Government for another.

As I have said, there is a great fear among the Cypriots of coming out with their true political opinions. Responsible Cypriots know perfectly well that transfer to Greece would mean a recession in the island's industry and prosperity. In private, they make no secret of that fact—they have told me this frankly, to my face. I give as one instance an occasion when a business man asked for an interview with me, and made the long journey to Troodos in order to see me. The object of his visit was to ask me to take a resolute hand in the matter of political affairs in the island, and to deal firmly with the people who were resisting, the good things we were offering. I was delighted and I told him so. I said, "I am glad that you are on our side, and I hope you will take opportunities, as they offer, to express these feelings which you have just expressed 'to me." He shrivelled up with horror at the idea—and a few days later he was on the same platform at an Enosis rally with the Archbishop and the Communists. That is the sort of thing with which one has 40 contend. Undoubtedly, under Greek administration the island of Cyprus would go back. We have the evidence before our eyes in what is happening in the Dodecanese Islands—I speak in no spirit of depreciation of Greece and the Greeks, those courageous and intelligent people. But progress in Cyprus depends in a particular way on skilled and trained men, on technicians; and the Greek Government simply do not dispose of such men in the necessary numbers, or with the necessary skill and training to carry on the work of progress in so many directions in the island. That is the harsh and inescapable fact, and that is what I see on that side of the picture. The prosperity of Cyprus would be bound to suffer a setback if such a transfer took place.

Having said that, let me emphasise that in my experience the Greek Government have always behaved reasonably well in this matter of Enosis. I am happy to have this opportunity of saying so. To my knowledge, there was never any encouragement of propaganda or of agitation emanating from the Government of Greece. Sometimes one got the impression that perhaps the Government rather deplored the importunities of the Archbishop. I think that is quite likely, but I have no authoritative evidence for saying so. But ever since the days of Socrates the Greeks have shown that they do not: like a gadfly upon their backs—indeed, that was one of the charges, perhaps, upon which Socrates was put to death. So, as I say, I think the Greek Government have behaved well. There was one rather glaring indiscretion, but that did not emanate from the Government in Greece. Their line is very fair. No one would expect them to throw cold water on the claim—they are bound to uphold the claim. But their line seemed to be, "We welcome the desire of Cyprus for accession to Greece, and we hope that one day it may come about, but the present time is not opportune; we hope very much that at some future date we shall be able to discuss the matter in friendliness with our very good friends, the British." That seems to have been roughly the line which they have taken. I hope that I do not misinterpret them in any way.

I know perfectly well that the Archbishop has carried out a plebiscite in the island and that, following the best Russian example—or the example of countries that are Russian-dominated—the result has been a 100 per cent. vote in favour of Enosis. I never expected anything else. To my mind, the plebiscite ran absolutely according to form. I should just like to say this about the plebiscite. I visited pretty well every village in the country. The villagers used to assemble under the big village tree, and the headman would step forward and tell me the wants and needs of the village. They might want a road asphalted, or a piece of road re-made, or to rebuild a bridge; or they would ask me to do something about the ravages of the carob rat, aid so on. But never once was the question of Enosis raised with me, nor did anybody with whom I was talking say one word on the question. I never heard the subject raised on these occasions—and believe me, my Lords, the Cypriot is not reluctant to raise whatever is uppermost in his mind.

We are on this dead centre. The matter seems intractable. It is regrettable. Sometimes when I think about it I remember what was said about the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, that its position was completely hopeless but not at all dangerous. We jog along in this way and the island makes progress and headway. I should like briefly to ask your Lordships to look at the alternatives with which we are confronted in Cyprus. We can cede the island to Greece, or we can cede the island to Greece but retain leases of the bases and of the harbours. I should not like to see either of those things done. I would not agree to the second course when there is a Communist element at work. But even if we take those two alternatives of ceding the island to Greece, with or without the leases of the bases, what will be said by the Turks, by the Armenians and by the Maronites, responsible minorities in the island, who have been very law-abiding? The Turks governed Cyprus for 300 years. Like Greece, they are a partner with us in N.A.T.O.—in fact, I think in the policies which are developing in the Near and Middle East, we are regarding Turkey as a very strong bastion of the policies we are trying to initiate there. What are the Turks going to say? For those reasons alone, and our own international obligations, I feel that the idea of ceding the island is completely out of the question. I mentioned the Turks just now. I feel sure that some of your Lordships will remember that passage in Othello which runs as follows: … when we consider The importancy of Cyrus to the Turk "— then it goes on: We must not think the Turk is so unskillful To leave that latest which concerns him first. We must really take other countries into consideration when this proposal is urged upon us.

Then there was the proposal by Mr. Amery, who suggested a dual Greek and British nationality for the Cypriots. I never found that that suggestion received much encouragement, and my own opinion is that it is probably not practicable; and in any case it is not a solution. We might impose a Constitution upon them. This is something about which we hear a good deal: that, the Cypriots not being willing to assist in drafting a Constitution, we should draft a Constitution and impose it upon the island. I am not certain that if we were to do that we should not meet with the same boycott and the same obstruction from the Church that we met with over the offers about which I have told your Lordships. That is why I repeat that the Cypriots themselves must have a share in drafting whatever Constitution is drafted for their island, so that they have some responsibility in the matter and cannot oppose it with a blank boycott or obstruction.

Those are four alternatives. I do not know whether any of them commends itself to your Lordships. I think we come back to the fifth, and last, alternative: that we must go on as we are, with the offer, of which I have spoken, still standing, and that we would resume with good will. That seems to me the only practicable alternative before us. There is some talk of the Archbishop appealing to the United Nations. With great respect, I should not let that possibility keep us awake at night. The Cypriots can bring forward no complaints of inhumanity, injustice or indifference to their welfare on our part. There is a clean record of progress, of which I have enumerated a few particulars this afternoon, and our offer of the Constitution stands. There is nothing that stands between Cyprus and a Constitution except Cypriots. On that account, as I say. I cannot see the Archbishop receiving much encouragement should he in fact decide to appeal to the United Nations.

In conclusion, may I say this? I know that, if they read my remarks this afternoon, Cypriots will not like much of what I have said. They do not think that you are a friend unless you say what they wish to hear you say. Of course, there are other people like that—it is not necessary to go all the way to Cyprus to find them. Englishmen with experience of Cyprus have very deep feelings of regard for the island and its inhabitants. In spite of all these political difficulties, I walked absolutely alone all over the island and I never met with a discourteous word. They were friendly, courteous, hospitable; and, if I may say so without vanity, I think that when I went into the villages they were as glad to see me as I was to see them. I quote some further words from Othello: I have found great love amongst them, and so echo Shakespeare's words: Heaven bless the Isle of Cyprus!

My Lords, I beg to move for Papers.

4.47 p.m.

LORD OGMORE

My Lords. I am sure I speak for all my noble friends on this side of the House when I say that I should like to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Winster, on a first-class exposition of this difficult subject. I am afraid that there was one omission in the noble Lord's speech—that is, that in recounting the great advances that have been made in the economic and social fields he did not tell us of the work that he himself did in those fields when he was Governor of Cyprus. The people of Cyprus certainly had in him a friend and one who worked unremittingly for their welfare. My noble friend Lord Listowel and myself were in the Colonial Office during the time that the noble Lord, Lord Winster, was Governor, and we had every opportunity of appreciating the great work that he did for the people of Cyprus. Therefore, noble Lords on this side hope that the people of Cyprus will listen to the words of wisdom and the advice that he has given them to-day.

I agree with hint, too, that this debate affords a good opportunity of welcoming the new Governor. I have met the Governor; I knew him when he was an official in West Africa, and I have no doubt at all that he is an excellent choice for the post. We wish him well in his difficult task. I would also agree with the noble Lord that it is a pity that there are not a few Back Benchers on the other side who might have joined us to-day. We should have liked to hear speeches from Back Benchers on the Government side. On several occasions lately we have had Colonial debates; there have been speeches from other parts of the Howe but not one speech from Government supporters. Frankly, I do not think that is good enough. There are greater numbers on the Conservative Benches than there are on ours, and I cannot understand why Back Benchers opposite do not speak in these debates.

We must remember that this House, as another place, is one of the Houses of Parliament of all these Colonies. The people in the Colonies look to us to regard their interests and to discuss their problems. It is no good having five or six people speaking from the Opposition side and no one at all, except the Minister, from the other side. We feel strongly about this matter, and I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Winster, raised it to-day. Of course, noble Lords opposite may say that they know nothing about the question, and plead modesty; but, as we all know, ignorance has never been an excuse for not making a Parliamentary speech, otherwise, on occasion, there would have been precious few speeches made in either House. A House of Parliament is not necessarily a place where experts talk; it is a place where often the ordinary man without very great knowledge may make a useful contribution to the subject under discussion. Having said what I intended to say in that respect, I move on.

My Lords, there is a difference between. Cyprus and the other Colonies upon, which the noble Lord, Lord Winster, has touched—namely, that nowadays nearly every other Colony in the British Empire (to use an old term) is pressing for self government in some shape or form. Cyprus is one Colony which will not have it; there is, in fact, considerable pressure: from a portion of the electorate or population to merge with another sovereign, State. That is a curious feature in the, constitutional structure of the Colonial Empire at the present moment. For several years at the United Nations Assembly two deputations have trudged in a melancholy manner around the, corridors, one from Cyprus and the other from the Blackfoot Indians who inhabit a portion of the United States. It may be because of the presence of the Black- foot Indians, but it is a fact that nobody has taken any notice of those two deputations. Everyone looks embarrassed when they come along, and tries to sidle past them in the corridors. For years past they have sent a deputation to the United Nations, but of course it is not: within the Charter that they should be heard.

I should like to point out at this stage the inadequacy of the Colonial Annual Report, a subject which I have mentioned before. There is no mention at all in. the Report, which otherwise deals with certain features of Cypriot life, of Enosis, which I should have thought was the: burning issue in Cyprus. On turning to the Report there is nothing on this subject, except for one reference—and a very curious reference—alluded to in part by the noble Lord, Lord Winster, that the question of Enosis has caused a purge in the Communist Party in Cyprus. We have heard of purges In the Communist Party in various places. This must be: the most peculiar purge of all—the purge of those who do not want Enosis with. Greece and not of those who want Enosis with Greece. I am glad to read in the Annual Report of the economic and social progress of Cyprus and to find that the value of the external trade of Cyprus in 1952—£38 million—was the highest recorded. I think we ought to congratulate all those who have worked so hard on the economic side—officials traders and others, for that excellent achievement.

The noble Lord, Lord Winster, has said that in 1948 we offered Cyprus a new Constitution. So far as I am aware, that offer still stands. There is a deadlock. The noble Lord, Lord Winster, has summed up brilliantly the various courses which are open to us at this juncture, and he has given some reasons for and against each course which he has suggested. There being a deadlock, how can we remove or break it? This is the problem which we have to face this afternoon. We are highly unlikely, I suggest, to obtain any answer to our problem this afternoon, but at all events it is a problem which we, as members of the British Parliament, and the Government, as the responsible Government for Cyprus, have to solve. I must say that so far as I am concerned, having listened with great attention to the noble Lord, I agree with him that at the present moment we can take no other course than the fifth course he suggested—namely, to continue as we are. That is a sad conclusion, as I am sure the noble Lord will agree. It is one which statesmanship on the part of us all, official and unofficial, should aim at altering. We do not like deadlocks: they are no good to anybody, and I am sure we all want this particular problem solved.

Of course, the defence issue arises here. I do not feel that this is the time to embroil yet another part of the Middle East in the difficulties of a new Constitution or of new government by another sovereign State. So far as the Middle East is concerned, there never was a more difficult time in so-called peace-time than that in which we now find ourselves. Therefore any suggestion which is made has to be made with delicacy, bearing in mind the great problems of that particular theatre. In a way, this is only one particular facet of the larger problem as far as the Colonial territories are concerned. Suppose for the moment that Enosis is out of the question, what is going to happen to countries like Cyprus? I am looking at it, as I think we can only look at it, as purely a Colonial territory, and one likely to remain so. What is going to happen? I have asked this question on many occasions and have got no answer whatsoever, either from the noble Earl, who will brush me off to-day as he has brushed me off so many times before, from his right honourable friend, from the officials of the Colonial Circumlocution Office, or from anyone else. They have never answered this question which, time after time, comes up for answer.

We saw this particular problem arise in regard to Malta, when the other day there was suggested the extraordinary idea that the Home Office should run Malta. That is an official offer by the British Government. I see that the noble Lord who has just joined us looks surprised, but it is in fact an official offer of the British Government, that the Home Office shall run Malta—without. I may say, any alteration in the Constitution of Malta or any such thing. I should like to hear the views of the noble Viscount, Lord Waverley, on that point. Perhaps he will tell us later on what he, with his great experience of the Home Office, thinks about it. At all events, the Government are not grappling with this problem at all.

In my view, there are at least 30—it may be 25, but not far short of 30—Colonial territories which can never in the ordinary way be entirely independent of this country. There are islands like St. Helena and place like the Gambia. Can anybody suggest that the Seychelles or the Leeward Islands, or any of those other territories, will ever stand on their own feet as independent countries? Yet, so far as I know, no thought, or, shall I say, no results of any thought, are apparent either from Her Majesty's Government or from the Colonial Office on this most important question which, time after time, is going to arise in the next few years. I have put forward a suggestion with which they do not agree. They may be right, but it is at least a challenge to them to put up some alternative and agreeable suggestion.

My Lords, may I say finally that in considering this issue we must not blind ourselves to the economic aspect. About a month ago I took my family to dinner at a restaurant in London where there was a waiter whose inefficiency was noticeable. We got into conversation with this man, who admitted that which was apparent—that he was not really a waiter at all. He told us that he was a farmer who grew water melons or pumpkins on the island of Cyprus, and he had come over here to be a waiter because he could not earn a living as a smallholder or farmer selling water melons or pumpkins on the island of Cyprus. He showed us photographs of his family, and said how anxious he was to go back to Cyprus. He made no reference whatsoever to Enosis. He did not object to British rule; he objected only to the British weather, which he thought was shocking. I guarantee—and this bears out what Lord Winster says—that if your Lordships went around among the rural population of Cyprus you would find a very large number of people who would agree with that pumpkin farmer. In other words, the economic aspect of this matter would loom much larger in their minds than the constitutional aspect. There is nothing more I wish to say, except just this: whatever suggestions we make must be based on sound considerations, and should be made with the utmost care. In these days, in this area, foolish proposals might have the most disastrous consequences.

5.2 p.m.

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

My Lords, I should like to intervene very briefly in this debate because, as my noble friend Lord Ogmore has said, I was, like him, one of the Ministers at the Colonial Office responsible for relations with Cyprus at the time when His late Majesty's Government made an effort to restore Parliamentary rule to that territory. I think your Lordships will agree that the future of Cyprus is a very grave problem, and one which deserves serious consideration, in Parliament and by Her Majesty's Government. Lord Winster, whose speech we ail very much enjoyed, spoke at some length, and quite rightly, of the great advances that have been made since the war in the social services in Cyprus—especially in the health services—and in the island's economic development. But however efficient and progressive our administration of the island may be—and I think it deserves both those epithets—it will not win the cordial good will of Cypriots while they have no share in political power and responsibility.

The political deadlock, which I think every speaker this afternoon has deplored, is unfortunate not only because it deprives us of co-operation on the part of the local population in the administration of the country, and blocks their political advance towards a measure of self-government; it is no less unfortunate —and this, as I think, extremely weighty argument has not been put forward this afternoon—because it would lessen the strategic value of Cyprus in time of war. As I am sure your Lordships will agree, the use of air bases and military installations and harbours in the island by our own Services, or by tie Services of one of our Allies, in war time would be much hampered if the local population were unfriendly and mice-operative. It is, therefore, from the strategic point of view, as well as from the economic and political points of view, that this deadlock is so unfortunate.

Of course, I do not blame the present Government, or any Government that preceded it, for the existence of the deadlock. The offer of 1948, I believe, still stands. En spite of changes of Government in this country, it has not been withdrawn, and it is not our fault that the offer has not been accepted. Wits its guarantee of an elected majority in the Legislative Council, its safeguards for the Turkish minority in Cyprus, and its measure of executive responsibility for the elected members, it is a Constitution which would surely give Cyprus a genuine parliamentary system and a very sound start for parliamentary rule. And it is extremely sad that there is no sign of any change of mind in Cyprus in regard to this offer of a Constitution. The regrettable fact remains, that this offer has now been open for six years, and is still rejected. I fear that we must now ask ourselves whether there is any real hope that it will be accepted, either at the present time or at some future date. If the answer to this question is in the negative, we must choose between some of the alternatives mentioned by Lord Winster in his speech.

We must prepare—and I think, without arguing the different alternatives, that these would be the only practicable alternatives—either for an indefinite period of direct rule, with the continuing dissatisfaction of the local population, or for the making of some fresh attempt to break the deadlock. Such an attempt, even if it proved unsuccessful, would at least convince our critics of the honesty of our intentions. The only alternative, so far as I can see, to this stalemate would be to impose the 1948 Constitution on Cyprus. Lord Winster put forward that alternative and, at the same time, a weighty objection to it, to which I will refer a little later. As I think the noble Lord rightly said, constitutional changes in the Commonwealth have, as a general rule, been imposed; they have not been made with the agreement of the people concerned. We do not make constitutional changes in our dependencies subject to the prior approval of the people in the territories in which those changes occur. The most striking example of an imposed Constitution was that for India in 1935. Of course, it has to be granted that an imposed Constitution is not likely to work so well as a Constitution that is introduced by mutual consent and which obviously has behind it the force of public opinion. This, indeed, was shown in the case of the Indian Constitution of 1935. That Constitution would have worked better if it had been supported by Congress and by the Princely States, but I think it will be agreed that, if we had not imposed the 1935 Act on India, the progress of India towards orderly self-government, and cordial relations between India (in the sense of the Indian sub-continent) and ourselves, would have been very different from what, in fact, they have been.

I noted with special interest (no reference has so far been made to this in the course of the debate) a recent article in the Sunday Times about Cyprus. In that article, the writer, the Cyprus correspondent of that journal, expressed the view that opinion, both in the majority and in the minority communities in Cyprus, was veering towards an imposed Constitution. I venture to wonder—having regard to the objection put forward by Lord Winster to the imposition of a Constitution—whether it may not be because public opinion in Cyprus has changed since the noble Lord was Governor. I do not know whether that is so; I merely put that forward as a possibility. What I should hope is that when a new Governor goes out to Cyprus, one of the instructions that will be given him by Her Majesty's Government will be to report as soon as he has had time to make proper inquiries into the state of public opinion in the island. And I hope that, whatever the Government may decide to do in the future in regard to the political situation in Cyprus, they will not regard this deadlock as something inevitable, something that must be accepted, something that defies all our resources of statesmanship. There is this alternative which is apparently now canvassed in Cyprus, and which surely deserves most careful examination and exploration. I hope that the Government will make every possible effort to break the deadlock, and will take advantage of the presence of the new Governor to review the whole political situation.

5.10 p.m.

LORD KILLEARN

My Lords. I had not intended to intervene in to-day's debate, and should not have done so but for what the noble Lord, Lord Ogmore, said, about a bit of variety in the bowling. My only justification for addressing your Lordships is that I have just returned from Athens. There is one angle to this question which has not been touched upon in this debate, and although it is not the ruling angle, nevertheless it is an angle—that is the Greek angle to the question. I came back from Greece just one week ago. I was there for a fortnight, and met all and sundry, and I should like to confirm that people in Greece are very much wrought up on the question of Cyprus. Whether they are right or wrong is another matter, into which I would not venture to go: but there is no doubt that in Greece, where there are the most cordial feelings of friendship to this country, feelings which are deeply rooted over a long series of years of war and rehabilitation, this Cyprus question risks running across that sentiment and, to some extent, marring it. I am sure we shall all agree that that is a thousand pities.

When I was tackled on this subject in Greece, as I was tackled, I did my best to point out to my friends that there could hardly be a worse time to raise the matter. I told them that it would certainly not fall on receptive ears in this country, for reasons we all know. I am afraid that I did not convince them. I repeat, then, that my only reason for getting up to speak to your Lordships this evening is this feeling in Greece. How the problem is to be solved I will not endeavour to suggest, but undoubtedly it has its repercussions in Greece; and Greece has its importance in our general policy. I should have thought that the suggestions put forward by my noble friend Lord Winster in regard to pressing on with the Constitution, were sound and right and proper. Go ahead with the Constitution if we can: therein lies the best hope of a true solution. I repeat that I had not intended to speak to-night, but as there was a certain comment about lack of speakers from anywhere else but one Bench, I have done my best to leap into the breach.

5.13 p.m.

EARL AMHERST

My Lords, I had not proposed to address your Lordships, but there is one aspect of this rather troublesome situation which has not yet been touched upon. I should draw attention to the fact that by virtue of my personal connection with one of the air corporations my relations with Cyprus are rather special, and perhaps there are some things which I cannot discuss. I would entirely support everything, he noble Lord, Lord Winster said in his speech, and I think he would be supported generally from these Benches. He touched particularly on the question of education, and said, as did other speakers, that the people in Cyprus are reluctant to express their opinions. They are reluctant to assume responsibility for what might happen in due course. I think that can be explained in many cases by the fact that they cannot speak good English. I should like to give one instance of a young Cypriot who was training in engineering. He was very promising technically, but when he tried to take his examination his English was simply not good enough. Before the noble Earl replies for the Government, I should like to ask whether it might not be a good thing, and helpful to the development of the Cypriot mind towards a point where it will be ready to take more responsibility than it is taking at the present moment, if the question of the compulsory teaching of English in schools could be considered. I believe that is not the case at the present moment.

5.15 p.m.

LORD HANKEY

My Lords, like my noble friend, Lord Killearn, I had not the slightest intention of intervening in this debate, and I will speak for a short time only, but I am moved to do so by what my noble friend Lord Ogmore said. After his reflection on the Conservative Benches, I wish to show that the Cross Benches are ready to play their part. I am surprised about the Conservative Benches, because, in my opinion, the inhabitants of Cyprus are very conservative people. My first visit to the island was in 1907. I was then Intelligence Officer to the Mediterranean Fleet and my Admiral paid a visit to the Governor. We took rather a long tour. It was before the days of motorcars and we had to go in four-horse coaches. I had taken out an interpretership in modern Greek and I was very anxious to learn all I could about the military and, more particularly, the political state of the island. From the moment I landed I heard nothing from British officials of all kinds but the cry, "Who will free me from this turbulent priest?" The then Archbishop was making exactly the same trouble as exists today, and my own inquiries amongst all and sundry seemed to show that among the mass of the people there was very small feeling for the Enosis which the Archbishop was advocating.

I agree with the noble Lords, Lord Winster and Lord Ogmore, that the situation is one that cannot be changed at the present time—and I may say that I have visited the island within the last year or two. I do not think it would be wise for the British Government to try and force a Constitution on the island, but I should like to ask the noble Earl who is going to reply for the Government whether anything has been attempted in the way of local government. In the science and art of government do we not sometimes build up from local government to complete government? I did not like to interrupt my noble friend Lord Winster to ask if that had been tried, but it would be interesting if we could learn whether that could be considered.

5.20 p.m.

THE EARL OF MUNSTER

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Winster, who initiated this debate this afternoon, has spoken with that care and restraint that we should normally expect from one who has occupied the important post of Governor of Cyprus. From his experience the noble Lord is well acquainted with every aspect of the constitutional position, and it is not surprising, there- fore, that the greater part of the speech which he delivered to your Lordships to-day dealt with that point. But in doing so, if I may say so, the noble Lord did not underrate the difficulties which confronted him, confronted the previous Government and, I suppose, confront the present Government as well. Here let me say at once that I should like to associate myself with the tribute paid by the noble Lord, and also by the noble Lord, Lord more, to Sir Andrew Wright, who was a most successful and popular Governor. At the same time, I should like to convey my good wishes to Mr. Armitage Who took over the Governorship last week. Before I deal with the constitutional problem, I am as anxious as the noble Lord that I should endeavour to explain to the House some of the social and economic matters which have recently been introduced in this important strategic island.

The noble Lord, Lord Winster, gave some interesting particulars about the improvement of the economic life of the country since the earliest days of the benevolent British occupation. We may well be proud of our achievements: it is quite true to say that Cyprus is to-day more prosperous than ever before in its history. Its trade is flourishing at the present time, and the budgetary position is strong—although of course, as the result of the earthquake, there may be difficulties in the immediate future. The ten-year development plan which was begun under the noble Lord, Lord Winster, in 1946 has gone well ahead, and, aided by grants under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts, much has been done to improve irrigation, communications and all sides of the agricultural industry. In addition, new industries have been, and are being, established; improvements have been, and are being, made in certain of the port facilities; and a new central power station has commenced operating.

In all, a sum of £15½ million has been earmarked for these development projects, £2 million of which has been provided under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts, and a sum of £5 million is being raised in the United Kingdom for the central electrification scheme. Although, as the noble Lord, Lord Winster, and I believe other speakers, correctly pointed out, agriculture is the main industry of the island, employing some 55 per cent. of the working population, new industries are becoming established in the island in a most encouraging way. I should like to give the House one or two examples of what has recently occurred. The Cyprus Cement Company is erecting a factory for the manufacture of cement and by-products. The Cyprus Asbestos Mines have installed plants which can produce 300,000 asbestos sheets annually. An additional number of small factories have been set up throughout the island for the manufacture of confectionery, and I have been informed that a concern from this country intends to operate a fruit and vegetable canning factory in the island. So much for the industrial picture, with which I have dealt only briefly, but I thought it necessary to remind the House of what has been done. Some of your Lordships may regard it as small, but let me remind you—and I am sure this will be borne out by the noble Lord, Lord Winster—that these things have an important bearing, and an equally important effect on the inhabitants of that small island.

I turn now for a few moments to the social side. A sum of £829,000 has been, or will be, spent on medical and health services. I would bear out what the noble Lord. Lord Winster, said, that, due to the complete disappearance of the malarial mosquito, the death rate in Cyprus to-day is one of the lowest in the world. A sum of £629,000 has been or will be spent on education, and nearly £500,000 on village improvement. The Government of Cyprus may well be proud of the fact that last year there were 66,000 children in elementary schools, and some 16,000 in secondary schools. The local Government are now in the course of preparing, with the help of a senior officer who was sent out from the Ministry of National Insurance in this country, an outline of a scheme for social insurance. I feel that, having mentioned these facts, the House will be aware at once that Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Cyprus have done a great deal over recent years for the welfare, prosperity and good government of the island.

The noble Lord who moved the Motion made reference to the earthquake which struck the island on the morning of September 10 last year. The Royal Navy, and indeed the other Services, did magnificent work to relieve suffering; and did, in fact, provide all kinds of relief measures. But much damage was done. Some 110 villages, or about 18 per cent. of the total number of villages in the island, were affected, and 6 villages were almost completely destroyed. In 35 other villages, from 50 to 90 per cent, of the buildings were damaged beyond repair, and in a further 53 villages from 10 to 50 per cent. of the buildings were damaged. No time was lost in starting immediate repairs, however, and within a few months of the disaster about 13,000 buildings were surveyed. Nearly 1,200 prefabricated houses have been provided by the Government, and grants for repairing houses, under a carefully worked out and detailed scheme, have been made to over 10,000 owners. The administrative staff of the Government of Cyprus, and, indeed, the Colonial Secretary, mentioned by Lord Winster, and the Commissioner, Paphos, deserve to be congratulated on this remarkable achievement. I feel that I should remind your Lordships, in passing, that the people of this country subscribed most generously towards earthquake relief, and donations, in all, totalled some £67,000. It is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to make a very substantial contribution, but I am not in a position to-day to tell the House the sum of money involved. I can say, however, that Her Majesty's Government have decided to bear the whole cost of the material aid already given, which includes the loan of 6,000 tents and the provision of blankets and foodstuffs.

I now turn to deal with the constitutional question. I do not intend to go into the historical survey which the noble Lord, Lord Winster, undertook from the early days of history, however interesting that may be. I want to start my story from 1931, because up to that date, as many noble Lords will know, Cyprus was administered by a Governor, aided by an Executive and Legislative Council. Fiat Legislative Council consisted of the Governor, nine officials and fifteen elected members, three of whom were chosen by the. Mohammedan and twelve by the non-Mohammedan voters. Let me remind the House. very briefly, that owing to a complete deadlock in the Legislature over financial questions owing to the campaign for union with Greece, culminating with the burning down and destruction of Government House, the British Government at that time decided that that part of the Constitution providing for the existence of a Legislative Council should be revoked. That was accordingly done. From that day up to the present time the island has been administered by the Governor with the advice of an Executive Council consisting of himself, the Colon al Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Labour, the Financial Secretary and three non-official members, of whom (as f think Lord Winster mentioned) two were Greek and one a Turk. But although therefore there is no wholly or partly elected Legislature, there are throughout the island elected local government bodies. At the centre, the elected element has, in fact, ceased to exist. Tie noble Lord, Lord Hankey, was quite right when he said that there are in the island a number of elected—shall I say?—local authorities.

In 1946, during the time when the noble Lord, Lord Winster, was Governor of the island, an effort was made to bring about a new Constitution. In the proposed Constitution provision was made for the setting up of a Consultative Assembly to consider the question of constitutional reform, including the establishment of a Central Legislature. That Assembly met in November, 1947, but the Ethnarchy refused to attend, on the grounds that a local Constitution was no substitute for Enosis. Greek and Turkish-speaking representatives, and those members who were nominated by the Government, did, however, attend. It was in 1948 that a paper was published which contained the outline of a Constitution It proposed that a new Legislative Council should have a substantial majority of elected members. A Chamber consisting of twenty-two members was suggested, eighteen to be elected on a general electoral register and four on a Turkish communal electoral register. There were to be a small number of senior officials (I think the figure of three to four was mentioned), so that the Legislature could be properly informed on executive subjects, and also on the policy which the Government were pursuing. There was never any inter, ion that the field of debate for this Legislative Assembly should be restricted or curtailed, but under the new scheme the Legislature was not to be empowered to discuss the status of Cyprus within the Commonwealth and Empire. Arrangements had also been made for three Greek members and one Turkish member to be appointed to the Executive Council and to be associated with certain specific departments of State.

That, briefly, was the Constitution suggested. It was not designed—as, indeed, Lord Winster said—to be the last word within the general framework of the offer, for a number of details had been left open for further discussion by a Consultative Assembly. Unhappily, when that body met in November, 1947, the Right Wing elements, together with the Ethnarchy, declined to attend. The Assembly which did meet was therefore only partly representative, and the proposals were accepted by the narrow majority of eleven votes to seven. His late Majesty's Government were led to the conclusion that, in view of the narrowness of the vote, and bearing in mind the fact of the composition of the Assembly, it would be quite wrong for them to proceed further with the implementation of this new Constitution. Shortly afterwards, in August, 1948, Lord Winster himself informed the Assembly, in the following words—which I will read: His 'Majesty's Government have concluded that, having given ample proof of their sincere desire to give Cyprus a Constitution enabling the island to advance along the road to political development, they must now leave the matter as it stands. The offer of a Constitution of the nature outlined in the Secretary of State's Despatch of May 7 is not withdrawn. If at any time responsible and fully representative political leaders in Cyprus come forward to ask that those or comparable constitutional proposals may be re-examined and implemented, or if there is any genuine manifestation of public opinion in their favour, His Majesty's Government will readily take the necessary steps to enable this to be done. I could not, if I tried, find better words than those which the noble Lord, Lord Winster, used on that occasion.

The noble Lord made a further remark, at the time when the 1948 offer was made. He said: The Constitutional issue has been to some extent obscured by manifestations in favour of Enosis…once again…I must repeat that no change in the sovereignty of the island is intended. That statement reflected the attitude of the United Kingdom Government at that time. It was reaffirmed in similar terms in June, 1950, by Mr. Dugdale, who was then the Minister of State for the Colonies. The attitude of Her Majesty's Government to-day in this matter remains unchanged. As regards the constitutional position, the matter, as we see it, stands now as it stood in August, 1948, when it was so ably summed up by the noble Lord, Lord Winster, in the words which I have quoted to the House. That offer has never been withdrawn, but it is up to the leaders of the people in Cyprus to show the will to take an active and constructive part in constitutional advance.

5.39 p.m.

LORD WINSTER

My Lords, may I reply, very briefly indeed, to one or two remarks which have been made this afternoon? I should like to thank my noble friend Lord Ogmore for his generous remarks to myself, and to tell the noble Lord and the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, that I remember, with gratitude, the friendliness, the assistance and the help which T always received from the Colonial Office during my period as Governor. I must also tell my noble friend Lord Ogmore that if his waiter could not earn a living on the land in Cyprus, there must have been something wrong with him. It is quite easy to earn a living there. He could not have been a very competent fellow. I should like to echo the noble Lord's remark that the conclusion to which we have to come is a sad one, although, indeed, we are forced to it. I noted, with great care, what the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, said about imposing a Constitution. The people in Cyprus, as I tried to point out in my speech, will say many things in private that they will not say in public; and I have not seen any public statements in the Press that they would accept an imposed Constitution. I do not think that there would be much hope in imposing a Constitution unless the Archbishop is amongst those who the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, has said may possibly alter their opinion. I know it is quite true that in most cases it has not been made a condition for the granting of a Constitution that it should meet with the prior approval of the people concerned; but that is quite a different matter from attempting to give a Constitution in the sure and certain knowledge that it has been refused before it is offered and that it will be refused again.

I wish to thank the noble Lord, Lord Killearn, for his most interesting intervention, and to say that I am sure nobody concerned in this matter would for one moment underrate the feelings of the Greeks and of successive Greek Governments in this matter. One can only look to the future and say that, for reasons which we cannot foresee at the moment, one day a solution will offer itself which will do justice to the emotions and requirements of both Governments. With regard to the Consultative Assembly breakdown, I should like to say to the noble Lord, Lord Hankey, that I had to consider the resulting situation, and an extension of local government was one of the things that I put forward. Very willingly would we have assisted to that end, but there again, there was no sort of answer, although it is true, as the noble Earl, Lord Munster said, that there are certain elected bodies, the mayors. Those—with perhaps one or two exceptions—are not only Communist but completely incompetent. One of the last things I had to do was to withdraw the fire brigades from them and put them in charge of the police, because I had heard from one of them that even if the brigade had been ordered to a fire, it would have been of no use whatever when it got on the spot. So I thought it much better to put the fire brigades into other hands. But I can assure Lord Hankey that the desirability of the steps he mentions has never been out of sight.

I thank Lord Munster very warmly for his reply about malaria. It is not only a fact that the death rate was high, but generations upon generations of malaria thins the blood and lowers the powers of resistance. The people of Cyprus are said to be lazy. I did not think so; but one has to think about the effect on the population of century after century of malaria. I am sure that industry will get greater production in the future. I was delighted to hear of the progress which is being made in social insurance and welfare generally. This is very important, and it is a great pleasure to hear how it is going ahead. I have nothing to disagree with in what the noble Earl said about tie course of events immediately prior to and during 1931. I think that what he said is substantially in accordance with what I said, although I did not go into very great detail.

But what I am particularly grateful to the noble Earl for is his restatement of Government policy in regard to Cyprus. That was what I had hoped would result from this debate, and I thank the noble Earl warmly for having given it to us. I believe personally that it will assist the Governor as he takes up his task to know that there is no doubt whatever that the situation has not in any way changed. I think it will also assist the officers of the Administration. They are men who every morning have to encounter virulent articles in the Press. The least offensive thing they are called in the Press is "Slave-driving lackeys of Anglo-American imperialistic oil interests." They then each day go out and carry on with their work of trying to do the best they can for the Cypriots. But under that sort of repeated attack these officers like to know where they stand; and I hope they will be encouraged to go on with their work, knowing that the conditions under which it has to be done have been fairly stated by the Government. Certainly the situation is a distressing one, but some situations have to be accepted; you cannot do anything about them. Here in a larger sphere we have to accept the fact that we shall be living for a long time under the coned-lions of cold war. We believe a solution will come, but so far as the immediate future is concerned we must live under those conditions and. we must accommodate ourselves to them. Similarly, in Cyprus a solution will eventually come to these problems which we are discussing; but for the moment we have to go on with the situation as it is—though to our very great regret. With those few words, I beg leave to withdraw my Motion.

Motion for Papers, by leave, withdrawn.

House adjourned at a quarter before six o'clock.