asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many towns in Malaya have now elected councils; how many will be added during the present year; to what extent the qualifications for electors and councillors are uniform throughout the area; and if he will set up a special minister to deal with local government matters as suggested in the Bedale Report.

Fifteen towns in the Federation have elected municipal or town councils. Five more town councils are definitely to be established in 1954 and four others may be. The qualifications for electors and councillors are decided by the Governments of the States and Settlements and differ slightly from one to another. A Minister was appointed last November—not, of course, by my right hon. Friend but by the High Commissioner for the Federation of Malaya —with responsibility for a new portfolio covering local government, housing and town planning.

Whilst thanking the Minister for the progress already made, can I ask him to press on with the other towns and villages so that they can be incorporated in the scheme, and will he make it clear to the people of Malaya that the ballot is secret?

Yes, and I think the hon. Gentleman can be comforted by the fact that, if the present plans go forward, all the towns with over 10,000 population will have these town councils.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent General Templer has recently studied the question of the prices charged to the consumer by the middlemen in Perak; and what was the nature of his conclusions.

General Templer has not been making any special study of this question.

Is the Minister aware that in the B.B.C. news bulletin on 14th February it was definitely stated that during his tour of Perak General Templer made a close examination of food prices, and that he was looking for ways of reducing the profit of the middlemen so that prices might be lowered? Can the Minister tell the House if he is on the side of General Templer or of the bandits in this controversy?

General Templer, of course, always has in mind the reduction of food prices, but he has not—[Interruption]. If hon. Gentlemen will listen to the answer, I am saying that he is not making a particular study of this question, but that he always has it in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in view of the importance of rubber to the economy of Malaya, what action he is taking to improve the position of the industry.

The Federation Government are endeavouring to improve the efficiency of the industry by encouraging replanting with high yielding trees and have instituted control over grading and packing to improve the quality of rubber exported. Extensive research and development work is carried out in this country and in Malaya to improve the technical qualities of natural rubber and develop new uses for it. A comprehensive inquiry into the Malayan rubber industry, covering costs of production and taxation, is also in hand.

In view of the fact that many plantations cannot produce rubber under about 2s. a lb. and that the present price is round about Is. 4½d., may I ask my hon. and learned Friend if he can assure the House that the American Government are doing their utmost to help the producers of natural rubber to get a fair price for their product and so be enabled to pay decent wages to their workers?

As I understand it, at the October meeting of the management committee of the Rubber Study Group various recommendations were made and the U.S. Government took action on two of them but not on the third, which related to an increase in the price of synthetic rubber.

Would the hon. and learned Gentleman take this up with the Minister of Supply with a view to purchasing rubber now that it is cheap and stockpiling it in this country, so that we may have a stockpile here and help the rubber industry in Malaya?

The hon. Member's suggestion will be noted.