§ 2.35 p.m.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their attention has been drawn to the Report of the Study Group on Asian and African Languages initiated by the 1958 N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians' Conference and held at the School of Oriental and African Studies between the 25th and 29th May, 1959; and whether they are prepared to play their part as a member of the Atlantic community in carrying out its recommendations.]
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE)My Lords, the Report to which the noble Lord refers was communicated to me personally by the Chairman of the Study Group. The subject of the Study Group's report is one which has been preoccupying Her Majesty's Government for many years. In this connection, I would invite the attention of the noble Lord to the action of Sir Anthony Eden who, when Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in December, 1944, appointed an interdepartmental Commission of Inquiry
to examine the facilities offered by universities and other educational institutions in Great Britain for the study of Oriental, Slavonic, East European and African languages and culture, to consider what advantage is being taken of these facilities and to formulate recommendations for their improvement".The Report of this Commission, which sat under the chairmanship of the noble Earl, Lord Scarbrough, was published by Her Majesty's Government in 1947, and the action taken as a result of its 1122 recommendations has included the allocation of additional sums to the University Grants Committee for the purpose of building up strong university departments of Oriental and African studies.I note that the Report of the Study Group referred to by the noble Lord has already been brought to the attention of the Senate of the United States of America by Senator Jackson, in his capacity as Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Annual Conference of N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians. Senator Jackson stated that he would submit this Report, together with recommendations for implementing it, to the 1959 N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians' Conference; and that he would be joined in submitting the Report by Dr. van Cauwelaert of Belgium, Chairman of the Parliamentarians' Cultural Committee.
Her Majesty's Government will, of course, give careful consideration to any recommendation to Governments which the Fifth Annual N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians' Conference may decide to make on this subject.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, is the noble Marquess aware that it was because Senator Jackson had presented the Report to the United States Senate that I thought that your Lordships' House ought also to have the opportunity of hearing about it? May I congratulate the noble Marquess on what I think is a forthcoming statement? I trust that at the coming N.A.T.O. Parliamentarians' Conference some concrete results may eventuate which will be favourably considered by Her Majesty's Government.