Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether any further negotiations with the Union of South Africa on the subject of the High Commissioner's territories have taken 3338W place; whether he has anything to report on the progress made by the Union as to the conditions which would govern the territories in the event of transfer; what results have accrued from the discussions of the joint committee on economic relations; whether it is still the policy of His Majesty's Government to exclude direct African representatives from service on the committee; and whether he is aware of the gathering fears of the African people of the territories of a drift into a policy of transfer, and will he allay their fears?
Lord StanleyAs regards the first two and last two parts of the question, I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for West Leyton (Mr. Sorensen) on 14th June.
As to the third part, the Joint Advisory Conference held a preliminary meeting on the 6th May, when matters of procedure were dealt with. It was arranged that the study of openings for closer co-operation between the Territories and the Union Government, on the lines indicated by the joint statement of the 29th March, would be undertaken at the next meeting, which will probably be held after members of the conference have visited the territories.
As to the fourth part, my predecessor has already explained to the House the reasons for his view, with which I agree, that the interests of the territories can best be represented on the Conference by the three resident Commissioners.