With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I desire to present a Petition from the citizens of the Borough of Hackney, which has been signed by approximately 9,600 residents, including the civic dignitaries, the Worshipful Mayor and Mayoress, leading people of religious thought, trade unionists, housewives and people who are concerned.

And the Petition

Sheweth that the future of all the peoples of the world including our own British people is endangered by nuclear weapons and that every fresh explosion of a bomb increases the danger both to people now alive and to those yet unborn.

Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the honourable the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should immediately propose the abolition of nuclear bomb tests through international agreement and any further tests should be deferred until an answer has been received from interested Governments.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he intends to publish his proposals for the new constitution of Malaya.

It is hoped to publish a White Paper on the agreement reached between Her Majesty's Government, Their Highnesses the Rulers and the Government of the Federation of Malaya early next week.

Whilst I am very glad to hear that my right hon. Friend has such definite news on this subject, may I ask him if he is aware of the widespread interest with which the proposals are awaited and also of the certain amount of anxiety that there should be as little as possible of racial discrimination which might otherwise prejudice the future success of these proposals?

I am aware of both those considerations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will place the memoranda submitted by Her Majesty's Government to the Reid Constitutional Commission for Malaya in the Library.

No, Sir. I do not propose to do this.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that there is still a certain amount of anxiety in this country, in the Dominions and in the Commonwealth as a whole about the way in which the new constitution is being rather rushed? If he cannot put the whole facts in the Library, cannot he place there some kind of memorandum about them in order to ensure that people realise what is our attitude and how far we are going?

The proposals which are now being considered are entirely acceptable to Her Majesty's Government, and when the White Paper is published shortly our point of view will be clearly shown.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will ensure that in the forthcoming White Paper relating to the new Malayan Constitution it will be clearly indicated whether or not the special privileges to be given to the Malay section of the population are to be granted to immigrant Indonesians domiciled in Malaya on Independence Day; and whether or not they will be denied to persons born in Malaya or Chinese families which have been continuously domiciled there for over 200 years.

Safeguards for the rights of all races in the Federation will be provided in the new constitution. For an answer to his special points, I would ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the publication of the White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will publish a table showing the Malay, Indian and Chinese percentage of the population of each of the States and Settlements of the Malayan Federation in the first decade of this century and at the last census, and also a table showing the percentages of the electorate enjoyed by these three races in each State and Settlement in the 1955 election to the States and Settlements Councils; and what percentage of members of each State and Settlement Council, respectively, are at present elected and what percentage are nominated.

I have asked the High Commissioner for the Federation of Malaya to provide this information and will send it to the hon. Member.

I am obliged to the Minister for acceding to my request to ascertain these figures. May I assure him that I will read them with interest and will come back with further questions?

I do not doubt it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, following the recent refusal of Hong Kong to limit cotton cloth exports to Great Britain, he will now consider introducing a minimum wage in Hong Kong textile mills.

No, Sir. As my right hon. Friend informed the hon. Member on 24th October, 1956, wages and working conditions in this industry compare favourably with those in other industries, and it is not proposed to introduce a legal minimum wage.

But is the Minister aware that Lancashire is increasingly alarmed by the growth of cotton imports, made by underpaid Hong Kong labour, which has increased from 5 million square yards six years ago to 55 million square yards last year? Since the wages of textile workers in Hong Kong are so far below those of the workers in Lancashire, would it not be in the interest of both to introduce a legal minimum wage?

No, Sir, and I do not agree that they are underpaid. I think it would be improper to enforce a higher minimum wage simply to protect the United Kingdom cotton industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Government of Hong Kong proposes to introduce an extension of the franchise.

No proposal for an extension is being considered at present.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman ask the Hong Kong Administration to think about this matter? Is he aware that the great mass of the pre-war population in Hong Kong has not the right to vote? Does he not think that it is very difficult to attack dictatorships in other parts of the world when we ourselves are maintaining a dictatorship, however benevolent, in Hong Kong?

Nobody in Hong Kong thinks for a moment that he is living under a dictatorship. Many hundreds of thousands have left a dictatorship to go to live in Hong Kong. There is no significant public demand for this change, and I suggest that if the hon. Member went to live there, even he himself would quickly absorb the prevailing atmosphere.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now state what form of inquiry will be instituted by the Governor of Cyprus in order to clear the good name of the Cyprus Police Force and the security forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the refusal of the Governor to hold an inquiry into police methods in Cyprus.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he is taking to investigate allegations of ill treatment while in Cyprus made by Cypriot prisoners now in Wormwood Scrubs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will establish an independent inquiry into allegations of ill-treatment by members of the Special Branch in Cyprus, copies of which have been sent to him through the Home Office, made by Cypriot prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs prison.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will set up an independent committee to investigate conditions in British prisons in Cyprus.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will move to set up a Select Committee in order to examine and report on the treatment of political prisoners in Cyprus by British officials.

The campaign of vilification against the police and security forces in Cyprus culminated in a statement by Archbishop Makarios last week. Complaints made to the hon. Member for Cannock (Miss Lee) and the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) by Cypriot prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs are clearly, by their timing, part of this campaign. Hon. Members will, I am sure, not be misled by the motives of this campaign.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that no investigation by the Governor or the Cyprus Government can possibly allay the very real concern that is felt by numbers of people about this? Is he further aware that not only Greek Cypriots but responsible people in Cyprus have expressed great anxiety about some of the incidents which had been reported, and since he said a week or two ago that the Governor was anxious to clear the good name of the security forces, will he not realise that the only way in which this can be done is by an independent inquiry?

I think that some hon. Members do not perhaps altogether understand the conditions at the moment in Cyprus under which witnesses who wanted to give evidence against statements made under E.O.K.A. pressure would be placed if they were asked to make those statements to some other inquiry. I am absolutely satisfied that one of the main reasons for this campaign of denigration is to enable E.O.K.A. to discover and to eliminate weaknesses in its own organisation and methods of operation which have enabled the security forces to make such inroads upon it. One of the so-called victims of these charges, in effect, said a week or so ago that there really was no charge to make. He said, "The Church is very powerful here." Does the hon. Gentleman really think that I, or any other responsible person, should set in motion machinery under which that and similar statements would be published in a way which would identify the individuals?

Is the Minister not aware that it would be quite improper for Cypriot prisoners who are making allegations of maltreatment to be judge and jury in their own case? Is he also aware that the logic which applies to these Cypriot prisoners applies to himself and to the Governor of Cyprus? Is he further aware that, if the situation remains as it now is, in the eyes of the world the British Government have pleaded guilty? [HON. MEMBERS: "Nonsense.] Therefore I ask, if we are to justify the good name of our British soldiers abroad, of which we are all proud, that in their interests as well as in the interest of the honour of the Government, it is absolutely essential that an independent inquiry should be set up?

I cannot accept the hon. Lady's conclusions. Her own visit with the hon. Member for 'Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) to Wormwood Scrubs, which the Home Secretary was very ready to facilitate, brought her into contact with a number of men who made charges. These men in Wormwood Scrubs were all examined in the routine manner by the prison medical officers on their arrival last year and at the beginning of this year. I have seen and read carefully every one of the reports.

rose—

I hope this will not become a debate on these Questions. There are a number of other Questions to be dealt with. If any hon. Member wishes to give notice to raise the matter on the Adjournment, he can, of course, do so.

While I accept your suggestion, Mr. Speaker, in one sense, may I submit that the Colonial Secretary has made three very long statements—they are not answers to Questions—which could perhaps have been better made at the end of Questions? This is a most important topic, and I must submit that it would be quite improper not improper on your part, Mr. Speaker—but it would be unworthy if the Colonial Secretary by the vehemence of his language and the length of his replies were to get away with statements which are quite unfounded, especially in so far as they reflect on the conduct and honour of my hon. Friends.

I think that if the hon. Member reflects he will agree that some of the supplementary questions which have been asked did cover a good deal of ground, as did the answers. I am perfectly willing to call hon. Members to ask supplementary questions on this matter. I would only ask that they be questions and not speeches.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. There is very strong feeling on this side of the House that the statement which has been made by my right hon. Friend completely exonerates the forces concerned with security in Cyprus. In view of that fact, would it not be fair to my hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr. Remnant)—

I have my eye on him.

Further to that point of order. In view of the urgency and the gravity of this matter, which is now eating into the normal rights of hon. Members at Question Time, would it be in order to move the Adjournment of the House at the end of Questions so that we can give the serious discussion to this matter which it requires?

In any case, this is the wrong time to move such a Motion; but I can tell the hon. Lady that it is not a matter which falls within Standing Order No. 9.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the hon. Lady the Member for Cannock (Miss Lee) and I saw the injuries upon nine of these prisoners, and that while many of those injuries might have taken place in ordinary fighting, some, like deep cuts around both wrists, were quite obviously due to other treatment than that? In view of these facts, will he not only investigate these cases but investigate a large number of other cases of which evidence has been given by an independent inquiry for which we have asked?

I am not challenging the hon. Member's belief in what he saw, but I would suggest that it would have been better and probably more valuable to the course of justice if those prisoners had themselves complained to the prison medical officer when they were received at Wormwood Scrubs. I have given an answer. I have read the medical officer's report, and I have given the answer that is based on those reports. As my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal and Home Secretary has told one of the hon. Members who went to Wormwood Scrubs, the prison medical officer is carrying out a further investigation into these matters, and I think the House will hear about it with interest in due course.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that it is an old-established custom in this country to regard an accused person as innocent until he is proved guilty? Since accusation is not proof, should not hon. Members remain neutral until my right hon. Friend has completed his inquiry, when differences of opinion as to the value of the inquiry can be expressed, rather than take sides at this stage?

It is certainly a civilised practice.

rose—

On a point of order. Although I am quite satisfied with my right hon. Friend's reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment to point out how ill-founded these accusations are.

On another point of order. May I ask, Mr. Speaker, whether you had not called me before the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir P. Agnew) raised his point of order and whether, therefore, I have not the possession of the House; in which case, am I not entitled to put a supplementary question?

A point of order takes precedence of other business, because if something has been done which is out of order I am bound to listen to it before I can go on. On the main point, I remember a similar incident happening when a previous Government were in office and when the then Speaker, my predecessor, deprecated the giving of notice to raise a matter on the Adjournment by the same side of the House as was under cross-examination. I would remind the House of that, and I agree with what my predecessor said. I hope we may now pass on, as notice has been given and I am bound by it.

Further to the point of order. It is within the recollection of the House that the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir P. Agnew), who has just given the Adjournment notice, must have been aware of your desire and intention to call for supplementary questions hon. Members who had put Questions down on this subject. In view of the fact that the hon. Member must have heard you say that, was it not very discourteous of him to take the action he did?

I had due regard to the interests of the House before I gave notice. If you, Mr. Speaker, should express a wish that I should withdraw the notice, I will do so; but I shall not do so unless you indicate it. I think it would be right that other hon. Members should have an opportunity of putting their Questions.

We have passed that stage now. I have no interest in the matter except to secure a fair division of time among hon. Members who have other Questions on the Order Paper. If notice is given to raise a matter on the Adjournment, I am bound to proceed.

The hon. Member having given notice to raise the matter on the Adjournment, what steps can be taken if he does not proceed to seek to raise it on the Adjournment?

That matter would require consideration. At the moment it is hypothetical.

Is it not an illegitimate procedure and an abuse of the tolerance of the House for an hon. Member to get up and say that although he is satisfied with the Minister's reply none the less he wishes to raise the matter on the Adjournment? Is not the whole tradition of the control of the debate that a Private Member who is dissatisfied with a Minister's reply then proceeds to give notice that he will raise the matter on the Adjournment, and is not the action that has now been taken most undesirable?

The hon. Member is quite right. That is the usual practice. Notice to raise a matter on the Adjournment usually arises because an hon. Member is dissatisfied with a reply, but it does not affect the validity of the notice whatever the reason an hon. Member gives.

Is it not a fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir P. Agnew) and myself are very concerned about this matter? May not the purpose of an Adjournment notice be to express approbation of Ministerial conduct as well as the alternative expression of dissatisfaction? My hon. Friend gave notice that he wished to raise the matter on the Adjournment but not to express dissatisfaction surely that is not a contravention of the rules of order.

I have ruled that the notice was effective. I merely said that it was the usual thing in this House for an hon. Member who was dissatisfied with an answer that had been given to give notice of that kind.

Further to the point of order. In view of the fact that I desire to express extreme disapproval of the Minister's reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I have an answer to Question No. 18?

I understood that that Question was answered with Question No. 3.

No, Mr. Speaker. It was quite a different Question and it was not answered.

I expressly read out the hon. Lady's Question, which seemed to me to be part of the same story which certain hon. Members were anxious to develop. I answered it with Question No. 3 and regarded my long Answer as covering the Question by the hon. Lady.

That is what I understood. I thought I heard the right hon. Gentleman say that.

There were a great many Questions answered together, and no previous notice was given to us that they were to be answered together. This Question specifically asks for an inquiry into prison conditions and does not deal with actual cases.

It is within my recollection, Mr. Speaker, that at a certain moment you said that you were ready to receive certain supplementary questions from hon. Members who had Questions on the Order Paper, and the hon. Lady then rose.

I think it was dealt with.

Further to that point of order. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] We have had some pretty ungentlemanly conduct this afternoon. If my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock (Miss Lee) asks for the Question to be answered again when it is reached, is there anything that would prevent it being answered again?

Yes, the fact that it has been answered already is a bar.

I have always understood that the tradition was that it is by the consent of the House and of the hon. Members concerned that a group of Questions is answered together. If an hon. Member insists on an Answer being repeated, there is nothing to stop that being done if the Minister is prepared to receive further supplementary questions, which would have been asked if it were not for the intervention of the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir P. Agnew).

The case might have been different if the hon. Lady had not asked a supplementary question—[HON. MEMBERS: "On Question 16."] Order. I specifically gave her an opportunity of supplementing her Question on the Order Paper. I have to accept, therefore, that her Question has been answered.

May I point out that the hon. Lady has two Questions on the Order Paper, Questions Nos. 16 and 18? She asked her supplementary questions in relation to the conditions of prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs, to which the Colonial Secretary replied, but she has had no answer at all to Question No. 18.

I cannot help that now. The hon. Lady should have asked her question about it then.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a further statement on the progress being made in the provision of a deep-water port in Cyprus.

The consulting engineers are working on the detailed plans and specifications for the extension of Famagusta Harbour. They have indicated that tenders could be invited by the end of August.

Can my right hon. Friend give any indication of the expected cost of this development plan?

It is a very expensive scheme; I think it is about £3¾ million.

Further to that last answer and before money is spent on a project of this sort, can we have an assurance that the Government will take into account the recent visit of the Minister of Defence to this area to see whether money to this extent will be wasted by being spent there?

All Ministers in this Administration act in harmony and in knowledge of each other's doings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what consultations the Uganda Government held with farmers' organisations before deciding to take £7,500,000 out of the Cotton and Coffee Price Assistance Funds as a grant to Government funds.

There has been no such decision. A proposal to convert to a grant an interest-free loan of £7½ million from the Price Assistance Funds sanctioned by the Legislative Council in March was debated by the Council on 6th June, but, by consent, the Motion was withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many cotton ginneries have been made available for co-operative unions in Uganda under the cotton reorganisation scheme; and how many more will be made available during the next five years.

Nine, Sir. I hope that five more co-operative ginneries will be established in the next five years.

Would the Secretary of State give an undertaking that the transfer of these cotton ginneries will be made at a rate of compensation which will not prove an undue burden on the cooperative unions?

The Governor, who recently came to England and is still here, as the hon. Member knows, is very conscious of the importance of securing that the co-operative unions are required to provide one-third of the capital cost of the ginneries, the balance of capital cost being lent by the Government at the rate of 5¾ per cent. to make up the balance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what basis it is proposed to appoint Assistant Ministers in Tanganyika in the interim development of the Ministerial system.

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT the passage in the Governor's speech to the Tanganyika Legislative Council on 30th April, in which he announced the proposed appointment of six Assistant Ministers. As I said during the course of the debate on 4th June, the people chosen for these posts are those who, in the Governor's view, are the individuals best fitted by experience and interest to address themselves to the aspects of government concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when was the last occasion on which an independent committee investigated the constitutional and administrative system of the Seychelles; what recommendations were made; and with what results.

I cannot trace any investigation of this kind. There was an examination of the financial position of the Colony, carried out in 1933 by Mr. T. Reid, who was well known and respected in this House as Member for Swindon.

That was a long time ago. Does this not show that it is time some investigation of this kind were held? Is the Under-Secretary of State aware that I now have the support of The Times in favour of such an inquiry? In view of the serious scandals that have taken place in the Seychelles year after year and revealed in the Auditor's Report, as well as an accumulation of inefficiencies and irregularities, would he not now set up an investigation?

I find the hon. Gentleman's charges exaggerated. None the less, a Commissioner is being appointed to examine the financial and fiscal policy, and the investigation will necessarily include aspects of the administrative system.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what loans and grants have been made by the United Kingdom to the Seychelles in each of the last five years; and for what purposes.

Since 1952, £130,031 has been granted to Seychelles under C.D. & W. schemes mainly for health, housing, agriculture, communications and education. For details, I would refer the hon. Member to the Return of Schemes made under the C.D. & W. Acts published each year as a House of Commons Paper.

While welcoming the announcement that a Commissioner is to be appointed to investigate the administration of the Seychelles, even though it was announced in a rather haphazard way, may I ask whether we are to understand that it will be part of this Commissioner's function to investigate how this money has been spent and to ensure that in future it is spent through the proper channels and is properly accounted for?

We had better await the result of the Commission, which will cover all the sort of things that the hon. Member has in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now state what changes will be made in the judicial appointments in the Seychelles.

Apart from filling the vacancy in the office of Chief Justice, no changes are contemplated.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say who the new Chief Justice will be?

No, Sir. I am not as yet prepared to say. Consideration is being given to a number of names, and, obviously, a wise appointment will be be made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what official discussions between the four races who are represented on the Legislative Council of Kenya have taken place on the possibility of constitutional changes before 1960.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement upon the further progress in constitutional advance in Kenya following the recent meeting of the European elected members of the Legislative Council led by Sir Charles Vincent and the African Elected Members under Mr. Tom Mboya.

I have nothing to add to the repy made by my hon. Friend to the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson) on 5th June.

In view of the fact that the Asian Group in the Legislative Council has supported the African Group in asking for further representation, is it not possible in order to ease the situation in Kenya to bring some pressure to bear upon the European Group to meet with them and come to an agreement?

The meeting was actually started through the initiative of the Europeans. I think practical results are more likely to be ensured by the less we talk about it at this stage in this House.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think he has been much too negative in this matter? Would he consider sending out a constitutional adviser to the Colony to help those unofficial talks which are going on between the Europeans and Africans?

No, Sir, I think it is a very positive contribution to enable all the races in Kenya to face the big responsibilities which lie ahead of all of them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the tape recordings made by Kenya Government officials of the speeches of African members of the Legislative Council at their public meetings will be used in evidence against these speakers: and whether copies of these records are deposited with them.

The production of these recordings as evidence in any case brought by the Crown for an alleged contravention of the law would be a matter for the Attorney-General of Kenya. I am consulting the Governor on the second part of the Question and will write to the hon. Member when I have his reply.

But would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the absolute accuracy of tape recording can always be questioned, because it can be so easily tampered with? Does he not think, then, that it is at least against all our canons of justice, and those of the United States and the Continent, to use this sort of evidence now or in the future?

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is not suggesting that the police or any other responsible authority would do that in Kenya—[Hors. MEMBERS: "Oh."] Well, in view of the glowing tributes paid by hon. Members opposite to the Government of Kenya after a recent visit, those jeers sound a little unreal, but I must point out that the value of any such evidence would, of course, be a matter for the court to determine.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that domestic and agricultural workers, comprising the majority of Bahamas wage-earners, are still prevented from joining trade unions by the Trade Union Act, 1943; and what steps he proposes to take to end this ban.

A Select Committee of the Bahamas House of Assembly is at present considering legislation designed to remove restrictions imposed on these workers by the Trade Unions Act of 1943.

Does the Minister remember that eight months ago he told me that the Bahamas Government intended to introduce legislation to end this ban? How much longer is it to continue?

That legislation has since been introduced and is now before a Select Committee of the House of Assembly, which is expected to report in the very near future.

Is it not the case that recently two civil servants were sent to the Bahamas from the Colonial Office, that they made a report and that report was submitted by the right hon. Gentleman to the Governor and came before the Legislative Council, which rejected it with contempt?

No, Sir, the recommendations that were made for changes are those which the Government now have in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what evidence of intention to resort to violence the Union des Populations du Cameroun has been declared by the Governor-General in Council of Nigeria to be art unlawful society; and on what charges 13 leaders have been arrested and ordered to leave the country.

In declaring the Union des Populations du Cameroun an unlawful society and detaining some of its alien leaders with a view to deportation, the Acting Governor-General acted on the advice of the Nigerian Council of Ministers and with the full support of the Executive Council of the Southern Cameroons.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many of us take a very serious view when deportations take place from Colonial Territories? Is it the case that these men and women are being deported, not because of any unlawful act, but because, to quote the words of the Extraordinary Gazette,

"there now exists a grave possibility that, in order to achieve its political objectives, the party may have to resort to violence."

The hon. Member works himself up into a state which would give the impression that these people are British subjects. They are aliens who have abused the hospitality of British-protected territory. I have no intention whatever of asking the Government, who have a large measure of local autonomy in the Southern Cameroons—even more as a result of the agreement I have recently made with them—to reconsider the decision they have reached.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what grounds Mr. Alan Bush was refused permission by the Government of British Guiana to go ashore in order to record folk songs of the territory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why Her Majesty's Governors in Trinidad and British Guiana refused permission for Mr. Alan Bush to land in their territories.

Mr. Bush was deemed to be an undesirable visitor in both territories under the respective Immigration Ordinance. The Governments concerned are not required to give reasons for this action.

Is it not a fact that there is no right of appeal under the existing immigration restriction order against procedure of this sort? Will not the Government take steps to provide that there should be some right of appeal against arbitrary acts of this kind, which have an awful smell of something like the phone tapping scandal to which we have just listened?

No, Sir. I do not think it has got any smell about it at all, and I am not prepared to take any further action.

There is a lot of smell about it. This distinguished musician has been found guilty without a trial. Is there no way in which this gentleman can be informed on what ground he has been refused entry into British Guiana? We all know the view of the right hon. Gentleman about Fascism, but in British Guiana the constitution was destroyed, and now that there is to be an election the constituencies have been gerrymandered, and now British subjects have been refused entry.

Those must be matters for local people to decide.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what decisions have been reached as a result of the discussion between the governing bodies of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, and the University College of the West Indies on the proposal to grant university status to the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture.

I understand that recent discussions between the governing bodies of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, and the University College of the West Indies were concerned with the question of providing a first degree in agriculture in the Caribbean by developing a special relationship between the two colleges. No final conclusion as a result of these discussions has yet been reached.

In view of the regard in which this College is held, not only in the West Indies but throughout the Commonwealth, will the Minister do everything he can to aid this aim?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in housing in British Guiana during the last three years; and what proportion of these loans has been financed through the British Guiana Credit Corporation.

Since 1954, over 7,000 houses have been built under Government and private schemes. A further 1,800 are in varying stages of construction. Credit Corporation loans amounted to £1·3 million, representing about two-thirds of the total borrowing during this period.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why permission was refused by the Nyasaland Legislative Council for the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be made available for use in African schools.

I assume the hon. Member is referring to a reply given in the Nyasaland Legislative Council on 7th February to a request that the Government take immediate steps to see that the schools were provided with the Declaration and other United Nations documents as part of their reading materials. The Government spokesman said that the terminology of such documents was such that they were not generally suitable for, nor readily understandable by, schoolchildren.

Could not something be provided in a simpler form, perhaps with a preface that whilst all men are born equal in the sight of God, some are more equal than others? Might not something to that effect be suitable?

I think that is a slightly different question. I was answering the Question on the Order Paper, but I will look into what the hon. Member has suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the statutory minimum wages for industrial, agricultural and other classes of labour in Nyasaland; and in which classes rations and housing are included.

As the information requested by the hon. Member is somewhat lengthy, I am arranging for it to he circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

I am grateful to know that I shall be able to get this information. Is the hon. Member aware that there is considerable dissatisfaction at the extremely low wages paid in Nyasaland, which are lower than in many other parts of Africa? Having regard to the fact that qualifications for voting and matters of that kind are involved, does the hon. Gentleman realise how impossible it would be for any of these people ever to achieve any political equity at all? Can something be done to raise the very low standard?

I think that perhaps when the hon. Member reads my reply he will not feel quite as worried about it. I would add that in practice the minimum wages are often exceeded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what conditions have been imposed in the licences granted to the Shell-B.P. Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, by the Government of Nigeria with regard to employment and conditions of foreign and African labour, and the safeguarding of trade union rights; and to whom compensation will be paid for the use of the land and natural resources.

Conditions of employment and trade union rights are regulated by the laws of Nigeria. The only condition of this kind in the licences is that the Company must comply with any instructions given by the Chief Inspector of Mines for securing the health and safety of workers. Compensation will be paid to the occupiers and owners of the land.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what concessions have been given to Shell-B.P. by the Government of Nigeria; and what are the conditions of the contract awarded to Taylor Woodrow (Nigeria) Limited, for laying and welding a 10-inch pipe-line from Olibiri to Port Harcourt with regard to labour to be employed and the training of Africans in skilled work connected with such concessions and contracts and royalties to be paid.

Twenty prospecting licences and one exploration licence have been given. The royalty on crude oil is 4s. per ton. on oil produced during the prospecting stage and will be increased to 12½ per cent. ad valorem when commercial production commences. There is no training requirement in the Shell-B.P. licences but the Company have their own trade school in Nigeria and also give scholarships for technical training in the United Kingdom and Nigeria to suitable Africans. Minimum wage and fair conditions of employment clauses are included in the pipe-line contract. Africans are being trained as tractor drivers and welders.

The House will be gratified that progress is being made in the development of oil in Nigeria, but does not the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important that when concessions of this kind are given they should fully accord with the new status of this nation, now approaching independence, and will be not publish the details in the Library so that we can see that they accord with this status?

Yes, Sir. I will look into that.

Can the hon. Member say whether oil has been found in sufficiently large commercial quantities to justify the high hopes, because this will make an enormous difference to the future of Eastern Nigeria, in particular?

I agree that it will make a great deal of difference to the future, but I should not like to answer that detailed point without the notice which it deserves.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the amount of coal which is being exported from Nigeria; what amounts are used in the Territory; and for what purpose.

A total of 70,560 tons of coal were exported during the year ending 31st March, 1957. 719,470 tons were consumed in Nigeria, 400,000 tons by the railway and the remainder by the Electricity Corporation and smaller users.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the results of the investigation of the hydro-electrical potential of the Niger River and of the Cameroon Mountains undertaken by the Nigerian Government.

I have asked the Acting Governor-General of the Federation of Nigeria for this information and will write later to the hon. and learned Member.

Since it is nearly a year from the time of the publication by Her Majesty's Stationery Office of the pamphlet "Economic Development within the Commonwealth," in which it was stated that these matters were then being pursued actively, can the hon. Member assure us that the very utmost despatch will be used in seeing that this is done, because the need for power in Nigeria is apparent?

I fully accept what the hon. and learned Member says. At the same time, I ought to make it plain that these are immensely complicated matters which of necessity must take a great deal of time to do properly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now publish the findings of the Commission under Mr. Justice Wyndham that sat upon the detention and banishment of African National Congress and trade union leaders from the Copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia.

No, Sir. The reports are made to the Governor, and will not be published. As my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, told the hon. Member on 22nd May, I will let the hon. Member know if the Governor decides to make any substantive restriction orders.

While accepting the fact that these men are exiled for the time being and until the end of the year, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman will give the House an assurance that they will be allowed to go back to the Copper-belt, to their homes, their wives and their jobs at the end of the year, when the Bill which has been passed by the Legislative Council expires?

I am not prepared to give any assurance. I am only answering this Question. From my own knowledge of the situation—and I was there fairly recently with the Governor—I am certain that these cases are kept under constant review, and I do not think the hon. Member need fear that justice will not be done in all cases.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give me an assurance that if I put a Question down on this matter he will answer it?

I will give an answer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the ratio of persons per doctor is considerably higher in the Island of Dominica than any other part of the Colonial Territories; whether he is aware that modes of communication in this island are very bad, adding to the difficulties of doctors seeking to get from one part of the island to another; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of doctors on this island.

The number of doctors in Dominica in relation to population compares favourably with the position in the Colonial Territories generally. I know of the difficulties of communications; a very large road building programme is under way as part of the current development plan. Any question of an increase in the number of Government doctors is for consideration, in the first instance, by the Government of Dominica in the light of other competing demands and of the resources available.

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that in a communication which he sent me on 2nd May he revealed that there are three times as many persons per doctor in this island as there are in the United Kingdom; that there are twice as many per doctor in this island as there are in Jamaica; twice as many as in Trinidad, twice as many as in British Guiana, and that, in fact, the mode of transport in this island is worse than in any other island in the West Indies. Is he now saying that he proposes to do nothing at all, except to leave it to the local Government to provide additional doctors?

I said no more than I told the hon. Gentleman in my Answer, but I would add that, bearing in mind the fact that Dominica is poor, the comparison is not bad, and that in Dominica all doctors are provided by the Government. There are no private practitioners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action has been taken on the report by the housing adviser which recommended a model estate on reclaimed land in Bathurst; and when it is hoped that construction will begin.

The report which my hon. Friend has in mind did not contain final proposals so much as suggestions to be considered further after a more comprehensive survey had been made of local conditions and needs. This is now proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to improve housing conditions in Gambia.

While housing conditions in the Gambia do not compare unfavourably with those in many parts of the tropics, there is much room for improvement, particularly in sanitation. The Gambia Government has begun laying out some of the recently reclaimed land at Bathurst. New building regulations are being prepared. Increasing use is being made of cement products and steel which will reduce the considerable damage caused by termites, and water supplies are being improved in Bathurst and the Protectorate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations about the demolition of air-raid shelters he has received from Newcastle-under-Lyme Rural District Council; what inquiries he has made at a result; and what action he proposes to take.

This Council has asked for the removal of two air-raid shelters at Bignall End which are on land on which building development is proceeding. There was no need for inquiries to supplement the information supplied by the Council and I have authorised the demolition of the shelters.

Will the Home Secretary look at this matter in the more general sense? Is it not time that all these menaces to good health were pulled down, and will he not now give authority to local authorities to remove them?

Well, I have previously answered Questions about other shelters. We do take into consideration the question of health as well as that of potential safety, but I must judge each case on its merits.