§ Sir O. THOMASasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the new official name of British East African Protectorate is Kenia Colony; what is the advantage in changing the name; is it now a Crown Colony; will it have power to negotiate loans; and will the members of the Legislative Council be elected or, as at present, partly elected and partly nominated?
§ Lieut.-Colonel AMERYAn Order in Council has been passed providing for the annexation to the King's Dominions, under the name of the Colony of Kenya, of the whole of the East Africa Protectorate, with the exception of that part which is included in the dominions of the Sultan of Zanzibar. This will remain a British Protectorate as at present. The Order in Council will have effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette in East Africa, and the territory will then become a Colony not possessing responsible Government, or what is commonly known as a Crown Colony. No 1981W change in the constitution of the Legislative Council is proposed as a consequence of the annexation of the country. I believe that residents in the East Africa Protectorate have for a long time felt a desire for a closer tie with the Empire than is afforded by their living in a British Protectorate. Apart from the satisfaction of this natural sentiment, the annexation of the country will have the practical advantage indicated by the honourable and gallant Member that it will be enabled, in issuing loans, to take advantage of the Colonial Stock Act.