HC Deb 15 December 1952 vol 509 cc136-7W
119. Mr. Hale

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that, in Command Paper No. 1922 of 1923 signed by the then Secretary of State for the Colonies setting out the general policy of His then Majesty's Government, it was made clear that Kenya was primarily an African Territory and that His Majesty's then Government held the considered opinion that the interests of the African natives must be paramount, and that if and when those interests and the interests of the immigrant races conflicted, the former should prevail; and if he will give an assurance that this still remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government.

Mr. Lyttelton

For an authoritative interpretation of the policy enunciated in the Command Paper quoted in the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to paragraph 73 of the Report of the Joint Select Committee on Closer Union in East Africa published on 6th October, 1931. The policy of Her Majesty's present Government, which is in its basic principles similar to that of their predecessors, is in no way inconsistent with that interpretation.