asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken in St. Helena to satisfy applicants for agricultural holdings.

Seventy-eight acres of Government land have been let to 209 tenants as food gardens. Twenty-six applicants are on the waiting list for similar tenancies and holdings are now being prepared which will provide for sixteen of these.

Can the Under-Secretary of State say what steps are being taken to acquire the very large farm now available for sale in St. Helena and, if the land is acquired, how many holdings will be available?

This was the land to which I was referring in my reply. I cannot say exactly how many holdings it would provide.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assistance is now given to St. Helenians who desire to emigrate to this country.

A scheme is in operation for placing St. Helenian men between the ages of 20 and 30 in employment in the hotel and catering industry in this country.

Is the Under-Secretary of State aware that planned and balanced emigration of St. Helenians to this country would do a great deal to improve matters there? Would he look into the entire position in greater detail in order to widen the range of opportunities available to St. Helenians in this country?

We have been looking into the matter since November, 1958. Nine St. Helenian men have been found employment in hotels in this country, but there are very few applicants for the vacancies available.

Could this matter be treated with a great deal of caution? Will my hon. Friend take account of the fact that when, for example, people from the island of Pitcairn were moved to a part of Australia, it was found that they did not easily adapt themselves to the different living conditions there and, indeed, were particularly prone to certain illnesses?

I will certainly note what my hon. Friend has said, but I understand that St. Helenians who have come over here have settled in very well.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of branches of the Nyasaland African Congress which were banned under the emergency legislation; and what steps have been taken by the Government of Nyasaland to prevent new branches from being formed.

One hundred and sixty-seven branches. As the Nyasaland African Congress is now proscribed any person forming new branches would be liable to prosecution under the Penal Code.

Is the Secretary of State aware that all our colonial history shows that it is not possible to suppress by force a genuinely nationalist movement, however difficult it may be at any one time in its behaviour, and will he, therefore, reconsider his policy of declaring the organisation an illegal one?

No. Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is now the number of detainees in Nyasaland; for what reasons they are still being detained; for how long it is proposed to detain them; and by what method they may secure release.

My latest information is that 552 Africans are detained. They are being held in order to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the territory and their detention will continue until the Governor is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for this purpose. Detainees may appeal to the Governor or to the Advisory Committee if they consider that they are being unjustly detained.

What principle of justice now operates in Nyasaland? Is it that the innocent have to prove their innocence, or that the authorities have to prove that the people they detain are guilty? Or do the Government claim arbitrary powers to detain 500 citizens, whether they are guilty or innocent?

No, Sir. The principles of justice are those that must obtain in territories where a state of emergency applies and where certain people have to be detained when, in the view of the Governor, they constitute a threat to law and order. As far as possible, people against whom evidence is forthcoming are made the subject of specific charges. I am always very anxious that where people are detained specific charges should be brought, wherever possible, but the House knows that there are difficulties in places where intimidation is widespread. I would remind the House that 300 detainees have been released out of the 850 detained and that this process is continual.

Are not the regulations and the methods of detention very similar to those which were carried through during the crisis in Malaya?

Yes, Sir. I have the liveliest memories of members of the Socialist Government defending the detention without trial of tens of thousands of people, a fact which is apparently forgotten not only by right hon. Gentlemen opposite but by some of their back benchers now.

Is not the real reason why these men are locked up that they combined together in an organisation to secede from the Federation? Did the Colonial Secretary see yesterday the Governor's statement that there is still continued unrest in Nyasaland? How does he propose to get out of this dead-end into which he has got himself?

The reason is not that those men objected to federation. Constitutional objection to federation is perfectly proper. There is a different reason, as the House knows—

We do not know.

There is actually a threat to law and order, for which people have been detained. I saw the Governor's statement yesterday and I thought it was a very true one.

If it is true, would the Colonial Secretary address himself to the last half of my Question, which was how he proposes to move on from the situation in which disturbance to law and order has existed, certainly since the beginning of the spring, and in which all African leaders of any mettle are locked up while the Africans themselves have no arms to use against the forces of law and order? How does he propose to reconcile that situation?

The Governor did not suggest that the situation had not improved, but he drew attention to the fact that certain tensions still exist. I would not accept the hon. Member's statement of the quality of those leaders who are now detained.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what political associations of Africans are now permitted to exist in Nyasaland.

Any political association, other than the proscribed Nyasaland African Congress and its Women's and Youth League.

What are the principles followed, and can we not have a clear explanation now of exactly why the Nyasaland African Congress is to remain proscribed? Does the Answer of the right hon. Gentleman indicate that another African Congress might now be formed and that the reason for the formation of another Congress is so that Africans may have some means of political expression?

I can give no answer about potential bodies without knowing their objects. It is for the Governor to decide, in the light of their declared objects and their behaviour. As for the Nyasaland African Congress and the reason for suspension, I have nothing to add to the statement I made at the time, which explained quite clearly why the organisation was proscribed.

If another organisation is formed on a perfectly lawful basis to oppose the policy of federation, can the Colonial Secretary tell us whether such an organisation will be permitted to organise throughout the Protectorate?

No one with any sense of responsibility would answer a hypothetical question of that kind. The hon. Gentleman must despair of ever holding responsibility if he asks questions of that kind. It would be necessary to judge the purposes, declared and real, of any organisation before I could announce what the Government's attitude would be. If the hon. Gentleman ever had any responsibility at all for administration he would know that no one could give a different answer from mine.

The Colonial Secretary always tries to get away with it on that sort of ground. Will he answer this question? Is it not the case that all the political leaders who are now not in jail, like Mr. Wellington Chirwa, have expressed themselves in opposition to federation? Is there any possibility of organising any political organisation at all in the territories which is not opposed to federation as it stands? If so, is it not fair to ask the Colonial Secretary to say what he means when he says that it would be permitted, provided it was not following unlawful pursuits?

I have already stated repeatedly that opposition in a constitutional way to federation is certainly not illegal and that it would not be a basis for proscription.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations he has had from the Church of Scotland on the interference with their work in Nyasaland caused by the refusal of the Federal Government to allow the Rev. Tom Colvin to return to his post in Blantyre, Nyasaland; what reply he has made; and what steps he is taking to enable the work of the Church of Scotland to be carried on.

I received a letter from the General Secretary of the Foreign Mission Committee of the Church of Scotland, who also made similar representations to my noble Friend.

Is the Secretary of State aware that that is a most unsatisfactory and shocking reply? Is he aware that the Rev. Tom Colvin has a fine record of improving the social and educational services for the people of Nyasaland, on which so much hope for a decent future for that country depends? Can the Secretary of State say what assurances he has sought and obtained from the Federal Government that other Scottish missionaries shall be allowed to move freely between this country and the Protectorate when doing this splendid work in that country?

This matter has already been thoroughly ventilated in the House and it has been made quite clear that the responsibility for declaring anybody a prohibited immigrant does not rest with me or with my right hon. and noble Friend, but with the Government of the Federation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what inquiries have been held into allegations of improper treatment of detainees at Kanjedza, Nyasaland; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements have been made by the Nyasaland Government for the inspection by prison visitors or other independent persons of the detention camp at Kanjedza; how many such visits to the camp have so far been made; and what facilities are provided for detainees to make complaints to such visitors in the absence of camp officials.

With regard to the first part of the Question of the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) I can only add, in amplification of the reply given to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond) on 30th June, that, in addition to the visit of a Red Cross delegate, three visits have been made by visiting justices, and also many visits at different times by Press representatives. There have also been at least four visits of inspection by ministers of religion, in addition to pastoral visits made on one afternoon every week, which are themselves additional to private visits and Sunday services.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what arrangements there are for liaison with the Federal Government? Is he aware that there are people in this House who are disturbed at the reports we have had about conditions in this camp? As it appears, from the Answer to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond), to be a Federal responsibility, can the right hon. Gentleman say how our responsibilities are carried out?

There is close liaison in this matter. It is a Federal responsibility but naturally the territorial Government have a close interest here and the very fact that I have just announced that a Commission of Inquiry will be appointed by the Federal Government in consultation with the Nyasaland Government shows not only a desire to make sure that everything is being run properly but also a recognition of the joint interest of the two Governments in proper conditions.

Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the report in Dissent, a periodical published by moderate Europeans in Central Africa, regarding the conditions in this detention camp? Is he aware that that report shows that detainees were chained together and kept for eight hours with their hands on their heads sitting on the floor against a wall, and that after those eight hours they were compelled to spend the rest of the night chained together sleeping on a cement floor? Is not this a disgrace to British civilisation and ought not the right hon. Gentleman to do something to stop these conditions in our detention camps?

I think it would be very unfortunate if the hon. Gentleman tried to give the public the impression that anything he happens to read in any periodical of any kind is necessarily true. I have announced the steps that have been taken—the many visits of ministers of religion and others, the visit of a Red Cross delegate, and the impending Commission of Inquiry. I, for one, with a sense of responsibility, would rate their opinions far above a report in a sheet, a very obscure sheet, which the hon. Gentleman trots out as though it were the Gospel truth.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what discussions he is proposing to have with the Governments and elected members of Tanganyika and Nyasaland with regard to the future status of the Nyasaland Protectorate, in view of concern in Tanganyika about the future relations between these neighbouring territories.

None, Sir.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is very great concern in Tanganyika about the state of tension in Nyasaland, in view of the fact that these countries share a common frontier? Will he consult representative leaders from Tanganyika, in particular Mr. Nyerere, about the position in Nyasaland? Is not he aware that people in Tanganyika are as concerned as any other State would be about the possibility of there being an undemocratic State on their frontier?

Those concerned with the government of the vast territory of Tanganyika have plenty to occupy their minds in their own territory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he will be able to make a statement regarding further constitutional advance in the Nyasaland Protectorate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is yet in a position to make a statement about the future constitution of Nyasaland.

I have nothing at present to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 4th June, but I hope to be able to make an announcement very shortly.

Can the Minister confirm from his own visit to Nyasaland that not only African leaders like Dr. Banda, but Europeans like Mr. Dixon and Mr. Michael Black, thought in terms of a future African State? Why cannot the Minister be bolder and say that this is the future of this Protectorate? Cannot he see that on this issue alone Central Africa can possibly founder?

I would ask the hon. Member and those who know Nyasaland to wait for the statement that I have promised to make.

Will my right hon. Friend make a statement before the summer Recess?

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the present situation with regard to the citrus industry in the West Indies and its future prospects, in view of the dollar liberalisation proposals advocated by the United Kingdom Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the West Indian citrus industry negotiations are still continuing; and whether he will make a further statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what official representations have been made to him by the Federation of the West Indies with regard to the future of the citrus industry; what requests have been made; and if he will make a statement.

The talks with the West Indian delegation about their citrus industry are still in progress. I cannot at present add to the reply I gave on 30th June to Questions by my hon. Friend and other hon. Members. A wide field of rather technical matters is being covered in their talks. I shall certainly be ready to make a statement on the outcome as soon as I can.

Does the right hon. Gentleman's reply indicate that in the last week there has been no real progress on this matter? May I also ask him whether it is any use thinking in terms of development plans and research programmes unless there is a guaranteed market for the goods, and will he, therefore, use his influence with his right hon. Friends who are so responsible?

It would certainly be wrong for the hon. Gentleman to read into my Answer that no progress has been made. Progress has been made. I am myself meeting them tomorrow, when I hope very much that some of the difficulties will be ironed out.

While I am aware of my right hon. Friend's personal sympathy in the matter, may I ask him to bear in mind that the negotiations have now been going on for over six weeks? Could he tell us when the last meeting took place, when the next meeting will take place, and whether he sees any hope of a settlement of the negotiations before the summer Recess?

There have been a number of meetings of subcommittees. I do not think it would be profitable for the eventual outcome we all hope to see if I gave my hon. Friend public information about what is continuing amicably in private. I hope very much that there will be a satisfactory solution. This is not an easy matter. It involves the reconciliation of our duties to the West Indies, their duties to themselves and our international obligations, but I believe it can be resolved satisfactorily and I will make a statement as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what development and research schemes have been set up in the West Indies Federation for the assistance and encouragement of the citrus industry; and to what extent the United Kingdom will offer long-term contracts and an assured market to the industry to ensure that the maximum benefit is obtained from these schemes by the West Indies.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 30th June to a question by the hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd). No development and research schemes other than the Price Assistance Scheme I then mentioned, have yet been set up specifically and solely for the benefit of the citrus industry. The need for such schemes is being discussed in the present talks with a West Indian delegation. As to long-term contracts there are differences between sugar and citrus products. There is in force a ten-year contract for welfare orange juice negotiated by the Ministry of Food in 1950. Any question about this would be for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware of the real anxiety which exists about the future of this industry, especially because of the prospects for development and research? Is he aware how important is the whole of this industry to the West Indies? Can he give some further assurance?

I agree with what the hon. Gentleman has said, but I have nothing to add to what I said before—that I will make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in filling vacancies in senior medical posts in health services in the West Indies.

Senior medical posts in the West Indies are as far as possible filled by promotion within the local medical services. In the last twelve months there have been twelve such posts which my right hon. Friend has been asked to fill.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that a number of senior posts are still vacant and that these must be filled, at any rate at the present time, from this country? Has he or his right hon. Friend had discussions with the Ministry of Labour about the possibility of further secondments from hospitals in this country to countries like the West Indies?

I will certainly look into the hon. Gentleman's suggestion.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what evidence and charges Mr. Kenneth Kaunda has been tried and convicted by a court in Northern Rhodesia; and if he will place a transcript of the trial in the Library.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given by my right hon. Friend to the Question by the hon. Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Stonehouse) on 30th June.

Will the hon. Gentleman take steps to speed up the placing of the transcript of the trial in the Library? Further, is the Under-Secretary of State aware that many people suspect that Mr. Kaunda has been charged more on account of his political views than anything else, in spite of his known appeal against violence in Northern Rhodesia? Will the Minister also state what legal aid and advice is provided for Mr. Kaunda?

The reply to the first part of that supplementary question is that we hope to have the material placed in the Library very soon. With regard to the second part, Mr. Kaunda has give notice of appeal in the matter, so presumably he is satisfied, as the hon. Member will see, with the judicial machinery provided. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] In view of that notice of appeal, the hon. Gentleman will not expect me to comment on the other points.

What free legal advice has been provided for Mr. Kaunda?

There is provision for free legal aid and Mr. Kaunda has given notice of appeal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, at the 1960 constitutional conference on Central Africa, he will arrange for discussion of, and seek a solution to, the difficulties encountered by United Kingdom citizens in moving to and from the territories of the Federation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, at the 1960 Constitutional Conference on Central Africa, he will arrange for discussion of, and seek a solution to, the difficulties encountered by United Kingdom citizens in moving to and from the territories of the Federation.

For the constitutional position I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond) on 25th June. I should prefer not to start listing now particular items for discussion at the 1960 Constitutional Review Conference.

Does not the Colonial Secretary agree that if Africans, in Nyasaland particularly, knew that the British Government wished this matter to be discussed when the Congress comes, it might do a little to get rid of the tensions about which we heard only yesterday? Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that with regard to the prohibited immigrant the Rev. Tom Colvin, both the Church of Scotland and the Rev. Tom Colvin himself have done everything possible to get the reasons, but no reasons are forthcoming? Surely the right hon. Gentleman can add something to the reply he has given.

I cannot add to the Answer which I have already given.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman's Answer very humiliating from the point of view of the British Government and the British Parliament? Is it not the case that a Member of Parliament has been refused permission to go into a British Protectorate—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—and that a British missionary has not been allowed to return to a British Protectorate and that if this kind of thing were done in a Communist country the right hon. Gentleman would be among the first to protest against it?

The hon. Gentleman likes to have the luxury of getting it both ways. He is constantly pressing for the surrender of powers by this House to Colonial Governments, and when those powers are transferred—

To peoples' Governments—

—and then used, he expects me to be responsible for their use, for the use of powers which were freely surrendered by this House. I cannot add to the Answer which I have given.

Was not what the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations said supported by the right hon. Gentleman, and does not this apply both ways? Is it not wrong for the Federal Government to push on with a Federal Police Force and things of that kind before the 1960 conference takes place?

That is quite another matter and does not arise out of the Questions I have answered. I do not know what the right hon. Gentleman has in mind when he talks about a Federal Police Force, but if he wants to ask Questions about it he had better address them to the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the content of the article in the newspaper. Vanguard, for which Rutti Bulsara, a prominent member of the Zanzibar Nationalist Party, was bound over for two years after being found guilty of printing and publishing this seditious article; and if he will make a statement.

The owner of the Dinar Press in Zanzibar, who is also Publicity Secretary of the Zanzibar Nationalist Party, was charged last month on three counts, of printing, publishing and being in possession of a seditious publication.

What was this sedition? As this was an article about the future independence of Zanzibar, will the Minister confirm that the two main parties in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi and the Zanzibar Nationalist Party, are united on a common policy for early self-government? Will not the Minister be sensible about this and advance Zanzibaris into positions of authority where they may make decisions for their own people about their own affairs?

Perhaps the hon. Member will wait until a copy of the offending text is placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps the Zanzibar Government is taking to give Africans experience and advancement in the administration of Zanzibar.

The Zanzibar Government's policy is progressively to staff the public service with suitably qualified Zanzibaris. In addition to local training to this end opportunities exist for Zanzibaris to take technical, technological and professional courses abroad. These arrangements serve Africans as well as members of the other communities who have the requisite promise or attainment.

Can the hon. Gentleman confirm the substance of the impression gained by myself and many other people when visiting Zanzibar, that the Administration is still well staffed by expatriates? Would the Minister see that there are fewer expatriates in the Administration, and advance more quickly the Africans and Arabs into positions of responsibility?

The Zanzibar Government is doing its best to advance Africans and Arabs but the efficiency of the Administration must be its first care.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies under what Statute the Bermuda Supreme Court exercises Admiralty jurisdiction; and when an Order in Council will be made under Section 56 of the Administration of Justice Act, 1956, to establish Admiralty jurisdiction in Bermuda comparable with that exercised by the courts of the United Kingdom.

Under the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890.

May I ask my hon. Friend whether, were an approach made by the appropriate authority in Bermuda, he would be prepared to make the necessary Order? Since the United Kingdom has ratified the 1952 International Convention relating to the arrest of sea-going ships, are not we in breach of that Convention if this Order is not made?

I am advised that the position is that the United Kingdom, having ratified the Convention on its own behalf, has power at any time under Article 18 to notify the Bureau Power, which is Belgium, that this provision shall extend to any of the territories for whose international relations Her Majesty's Government are responsible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a further statement on the measures being taken to deal with the situation in Uganda with particular reference to relations between the Buganda and the Uganda Government, in view of continuing unrest.

The Protectorate Government have extended the declaration of Buganda as a disturbed area until the 30th September, though if, as it is hoped, the situation returns to normal meanwhile this order will be rescinded in respect of all or part of the Province. Serious incidents of intimidation and violence continue, but there is rather better co-operation between the Protectorate and Buganda administration and police in maintaining law and order.

Is the Minister aware that there is much resentment in Uganda about the quite unnecessary comments made last week by the right hon. Gentleman concerning the visit of my right hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Mr. Dugdale) to Buganda? Is he aware that I have heard from several representative correspondents in Uganda that there has been much appreciation arising out of the visit of my right hon. Friend? What arrangements has the Minister made for the settlement of the constitutional impasse between Buganda and the rest of Uganda? Does the Minister intend to grasp the problem with the energy needed?

There are far more important problems to settle than the conduct of the right hon. Member for West Bromwich (Mr. Dugdale). I said what the procedure was for the settlement of the Uganda problem. In regard to the conduct of the right hon. Gentleman, all I have heard is that people are surprised at the moderation of the language that I used.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in the civilianisation of Malta Dockyard; and if he will make a statement.

In my statement of 31st July last, I informed the House of Her Majesty's Government's decision that the Malta dockyard should be converted to a commercial yard and transferred to a commercial ship-repairing firm. From then onwards Messrs. C. H. Bailey of South Wales, worked in close consultation with Her Majesty's Government on the conversion plans and other arrangements for the take-over. These arrangements, including the formation of the local company (Bailey (Malta) Ltd.) which is to run the dockyard, were completed in March. A 99-years' lease was signed in Malta on 29th March and Bailey (Malta) Ltd. took over the dockyard on 30th March. When the dockyard was handed over about 6,000 Admiralty employees were discharged and immediately re-employed by Baileys. I understand that planning for the physical conversion and extension of the dockyard, towards the cost of which Her Majesty's Government are making available a sum of up to £6 million, has now reached an advanced stage. Since the hand-over the dockyard has been occupied with its normal level of naval work and in addition twelve commercial ships and one warship have been handled there. Nine other specific inquiries calling for tenders for work on commercial ships are at present being dealt with by Baileys.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does it not illustrate that Her Majesty's Government are doing all that they can to put Malta on its feet economically? Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that once economic success has been achieved in Malta an equally rapid constitutional advance may be made?

It is important to get the economic position of Malta firmly established. I share with my hon. Friend the desire that at the appropriate time a more liberal constitution shall be restored.

In view of the early part of the Secretary of State's Answer, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman is still satisfied that it will be possible for Baileys to continue to employ 6,000 dockyard workers?

Nothing has happened to alter the optimistic estimate that I was able to give the House at an earlier date.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what charges and with what evidence Mr. Japheta Oyangi, former organising secretary of the Nairobi People's Convention Party, was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment in Kenya.

Oyangi was charged with and convicted of having in his possession, without lawful excuse, two seditious publications.

Would the Under-Secretary of State explain what these seditious documents were? Is he aware that the documents were in fact non-Communist information about Kenya? Is it not outrageous that the Kenya authorities should continue their persecution of quite legitimate political organisations?

I do not think that arises in the least. One publication is called "The Kenya Problem," one sentence of which was held by the court to be seditious. The other was a letter, addressed to an organisation outside Kenya, and again held to be seditious. This was a decision of the court under a section of the law which was in force while the Labour Government were in power and has not since been altered. Mr. Oyangi has not seen fit to appeal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement summarising the findings of the tribunal which considered the charges against Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Coutts; and when the report of the tribunal will be published as a White Paper.

Naturally the Governor and I must first give consideration to the Committee's Report.

Since the Colonial Secretary has had this Report for nearly a week, is it asking too much for him to tell the House now whether these charges have been substantiated or the men have been exonerated?

I made it clear last week that this Report deals with the conduct of two officials and demands very serious consideration. The inquiry was conducted with remarkable rapidity but very great thoroughness, and we are doing the same with regard to our consideration of it. As I have told the House, I very much hope that it will be possible to publish the Report by the end of next week, but that must wait until the Government and I have considered the Committee's Report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement, with particular reference to the hours of work of women and young persons, on the operation of the new Factory and Industrial Undertakings Regulations in Hong Kong, which came into effect on 1st January, 1959.

The regulations limit hours of work of women and young persons over 16 in industrial employment to 60 hours a week and provide for a weekly day of rest. Transitional provisions empowered the Commissioner of Labour to extend the maximum to 66 hours during the six months ended 30th June. The number of factories granted this dispensation fell from 159 in January to 35 in April and 24 in May. The latter figure included 9 cotton spinning and 3 cotton weaving mills.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will urge on the Hong Kong Government the desirability of establishing licensed premises within their territory for the humane slaughter of dogs and cats used for food.

No, Sir.

That is a much briefer Answer than I received two years ago. Has the hon. Gentleman no defence for this? Can he tell me why it is that if these animals have to die in order to increase the potency of the Chinaman in Hong Kong, an island that is already overcrowded, they should die in these conditions? Why should they not be humanely slaughtered?

There are great difficulties in this matter. If we were to legalise the slaughter of dogs and cats there is a serious danger that there would be importation of dogs from China, possibly by smugglers. There is no rabies control in China. The law is difficult to enforce, because it is difficult to distinguish between a dog lover and a dog eater

On a point of order. If we can deal with foot-and-mouth disease in this country, can we not deal with rabies in Hong Kong?

That is not a point of order at all. The hon. Member should know that.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what casualties resulted from air raids by Royal Air Force aircraft during recent disturbances in Upper Yafa; and if he will make a statement.

There were no casualties. Aircraft were used at the request of the Upper Yafa Sultan and his son to destroy houses of specified tribal leaders in the Sultanate who had been working to undermine the authority of the Sultan, with assistance from the Yemen. Due warning of the impending operation was given to the tribesmen concerned in leaflets dropped from the air and by word of mouth from the Sultan's representatives. The houses were empty when destroyed.

Is it correct that aircraft were in operation over three days, 15th, 16th and 18th June, and very extensive damage was done?

What happened was that effective bloodless police measures were taken in mountainous country where that is the only way to maintain proper authority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is being done to restrict emigration from the Yemen into Aden; and to what degree this movement of casual labour is causing unemployment in the Colony.

In practice there are no restrictions imposed by the Aden Colony and Protectorate Governments on the transit of persons back and forth between the Colony, the Protectorate and the Yemen. There is some unemployment in the Colony and the possible effect of the migrant Yemeni labour on this is kept under review.

Will my right hon. Friend recognise that there is anxiety in the Colony over this movement of labour from the Yemen? Will he keep the matter under review in spite of the difficulties?

I will certainly keep it under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the importation and transport of qat is now completely prohibited in Aden and the Aden Protectorate; whether medical opinion is conclusive that it is deleterious; and to what extent this narcotic leaf is illegally imported and chewed in these areas.

There is no control of the import of qat into the Protectorate; import into Aden Colony is by licensed importers.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that it has been alleged that the consumption or chewing of gum is distinctly deleterious? Can he say whether anything further is being done in order to make sure whether it is highly dangerous to human life and health, and, if so, to take measures accordingly?

I have been given to understand that unless taken to excess it does not do real harm to anybody's health.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the circumstances of the Aden Protectorate recent frontier incident, including the ambush; to what extent subversion continues in the Protectorate; and what further progress has been made in federation.

There have been no significant incidents on the Aden Protectorate frontier in recent weeks. There was an ambush on 30th June in the Upper Aulagi sheikdom, at Said, which is not near the frontier, when I am sorry to say one Aden Protectorate Levy was killed and three were wounded.

Can the Minister say whether any more areas have now come into the Federation, or whether there are the same number as before?

Three more areas have joined. I will circulate details if the hon. Member wishes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what advance has been made, and is contemplated, in respect of primary education in Aden and in the Aden Protectorate, in particular, the extension of education for girls; and how many boys and girls, respectively, are now receiving primary education in the two areas.

During the past five years the number of primary school pupils in the Colony increased from 4,714 to 7,680. In the Protectorate the increase was from 5,456 to 11,555.

Can the Minister state when we are likely to get a more definite report as to the acceleration of education, particularly for girls, in respect not only of the Colony but of the Protectorate?

In the Colony every encouragement is given, but the hon. Member will realise that there are traditional obstacles to rapid progress in these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the nature of the charges made against eighty-six Nyasa Africans under Section 9 (A) of the Southern Rhodesia Unlawful Organisations Act; and the result of the inquiry by the representative of the Governor of Nyasaland in Salisbury.

They have all been charged with being members of an unlawful organisation. The Nyasaland Government's representative has been supplied with full particulars of each of the persons charged.

Is it the case that their crime consisted of sending contributions back to the African National Congress in Nyasaland? Is that really to be made the subject of a charge and consequent possible imprisonment, or a fine?

The hon. Member knows that these people have been charged with different offences. It would be impossible for me to give a general answer unless I went into every case.

Has not the right hon. Gentleman read the Federation's newsletter, which published the nature of the charges, and said that these people were charged because they sent their contributions back home? Have we really reached this state of things in a British Colony?

When one is dealing with a number of people charged with different offences it is impossible to give a general answer. Those people who have been charged, in the proper way, have been convicted, and I have no further comment to make.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will consider silencing Big Ben between midnight and 6 o'clock a.m., in the interests of patients in St. Thomas's hospital and of other residents.

My right hon. Friend has had no request that this should be done from the authorities of St. Thomas's Hospital; nor has he any evidence of a general demand.

I appreciate your special interest in this matter as a resident, Mr. Speaker. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that patients whom I recently visited in St. Thomas's Hospital have told me that they cannot sleep because of this booming nuisance every fifteen minutes? Is he aware that other famous chimes, such as those of York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Coventry Cathedral, are stopped at night, and also that clocks were made for men and not men for clocks?

There would be technical objections to interfering with the mechanism of the clock. St. Thomas's Hospital has made it clear recently that it has had no general complaint to justify this action and, from a personal point of view, I can tell the hon. Member that I slept for two years in St. Stephen's Club, which is the nearest point to the clock, and I can assure him that I slept very well.

asked the Minister of Works if, when choosing a design for the Hampton site next to the National Gallery, he will select one in general harmony with the existing building.

The design of a building on this site must clearly respect its surroundings.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply, which I did not quite hear. Is he aware that most people would think it a deplorable blight on London if the Sunday Times winning design were chosen, and that most people think that something more in harmony with the present National Gallery should be accepted? Possibly something with strong vertical lines would be the answer for that site.

There is no intention of adopting any of those designs for a building there at present, but that competition has undoubtedly elicited many interesting suggestions, which will be taken into account.

Does the Minister agree that while there might be a case for having a modern building there, the worst possible solution would be a design which tried to effect a bastard compromise between the classical style and the modern idiom?

There is a great deal in what the right hon. Gentleman has said. At present, my Department is in consultation with the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery to see in what way the whole site can most satisfactorily be redeveloped.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware of the concern of some local authorities that a shortage of bricks in West Middlesex may hold up their housebuilding programme; and what further steps he proposes to take to ensure that house building is not held up on this account.

I am aware of this concern and brickmakers are trying to ensure deliveries to sites where work is in progress or ready to start. At the same time builders have been asked to refrain from excessive ordering and stocking and to make use of local resources. I hope that these measures will minimise building delays.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the slightly improved quota which his colleague the Minister of Housing and Local Government has allowed local authorities for this year will be frustrated unless local authorities can get the bricks to build the houses? Is there not a feeling in the south of England that there is now virtually a monopoly in the making of bricks and that the monopoly concerned finds it more profitable to deliver to the North? Is there anything in that feeling?

No. I am entirely satisfied that the manufacturers of fletton bricks are trying to distribute them where the need is greatest. I think that they are doing everything possible to ensure that work is not delayed.