§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will make a statement about the visit of a Sub-Committee from the United Nations General Assembly to London; and what arrangements have been made to inform them of the history and achievements of self-government in Southern Rhodesia since 1923 and the significance of its new non-racial constitution.
§ Mr. HeathYes. We invited this Sub-Committee to visit London as part of our established practice of cooperating with the United Nations on colonial questions by providing them with full information about developments in our territories. The Sub-Committee had a cordial and useful meeting on 10th April with my noble Friend the Foreign Secretary and my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary, the Colonial Secretary and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. Members of the Sub-Committee spoke with warm approval of Her Majesty's Government's record in the colonial field, which the Chairman described as based on justice and respect for democratic138W principles. They emphasised that the United Nations Committee recognised that responsibility for our dependent territories must rest with Her Majesty's Government and that they had no wish to interfere in the exercise of this. We said that we understood and shared the interest of the members of the United Nations in the progress of dependent peoples. While we could not of course share our responsibilities or accept intervention, we were ready to provide full information and were anxious to cooperate with the Committees concerned.
On Southern Rhodesia the Sub-Committee questioned Ministers about the constitutional position. We explained the constitutional advance which has been made in the territory and made it clear that we had no power and no right to intervene in matters in which Southern Rhodesia had been autonomous for many years.
The Sub-Committee is still in London and we expect to have further meetings with them but I think the visit has already been valuable in bringing about a closer mutual understanding between Her Majesty's Government and the Committee.