§ 101. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is satisfied that the best results are obtained by making labour officers responsible to a Government Department in the ordinary way instead of allowing them some measure of independence.
Mr. Creech JonesI am not quite clear what alternative my hon. Friend has in mind. Practically all Colonies have labour departments, and the officers of those departments are civil servants responsible to the Governor through the head of the department. While individual officers may, of course, be granted a suitable measure of discretion in doing their work, it would not be practicable to place them in an essentially different position from other public servants who are paid from local votes and derive their authority from the Governor.