asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the scope, control and future organisation of the television service in Malta.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Deptford (Sir L. Plummer) on 23rd February.

The hon. Gentleman must know that there is great discontent in Malta about this and that it has not been consistent with the legitimate aspirations of the people of Malta, and will he, in conjunction with other Ministers, take steps by election to determine the wishes of the people of Malta and to act in accordance with those wishes?

This has really very little to do with the organisation of a television service in Malta.

Is the Under-Secretary of State aware that there is a tendency among all parties in Malta to develop strong censorship, and can he say whether these regulations will provide for reasonable freedom of speech?

This essentially will be an independent statutory authority, rather similar to the authority which we have in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can now make a statement about the development of the dockyard in Malta.

I am not yet able to add to the reply which I gave on 8th March to my hon. Friend's supplementary question on my statement on the Constitutional Commission's Report.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is very difficult for the new Constitution to get off to a good start unless the anxieties about the future of the dockyard are allayed? Will he use the strongest measures in his power to bring to a conclusion the financial discussions now going on so that the dockyard conversion can be proceeded with, since it has now been delayed for about eighteen months?

Yes, I agree that it is important, and I will do that.

Is the Minister aware that the negotiations with Bailey (Malta) Ltd. have been going on for two years and practically no progress has been made? Since one of the difficulties facing men in the dockyard is that they have no assurance of employment in the future, is not this one cause of the trouble? Will he look at this again and hurry on the negotiations?

As I said, I will hurry on the negotiations. Very recently, I had useful discussions with representatives of the trade unions on both sides in Malta and arranged some procedures for the future with them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the present application in Malta of the Public Meetings Ordinance, 1931, is discriminatory and causes dissatisfaction; and if he will now take steps to ameliorate the application, administration and enforcement of this ordinance.

I do not accept that the Public Meetings Ordinance, 1931, is discriminatory.

Will the right hon. Gentleman accept anyhow that an important contribution to the peace problem and constitutional development of Malta, as elsewhere, is the full and free expression of public opinion by means of public meetings and otherwise, and does he realise that that is not occurring in Malta at the present time? Will he, therefore, take the constructive steps adumbrated in my Question with a view to seeing that there is a free and full expression of public opinion in Malta?

I would certainly accept the generalities in the first part of the hon. and learned Gentleman's supplementary question. As regards the practical application of this Order, which has been in existence for a very long time, very few requests indeed are refused, and these are, of course, most carefully considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what long-term plans have been made for the establishment of universal primary and secondary education in Kenya, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland; and over what period it is aimed to realise these plans.

There are no such formal long-term plans in these territories, but each aims to extend primary and secondary education facilities for Africans as far as available resources will allow, until universal primary and secondary education are achieved.

Is this really not one of the most vital questions of all on which some immediate research should be concentrated? Is it not a fact, of which the Secretary of State is aware, that the present plans provide for a very slow rate of progress, involving in all cases 5 per cent. or less of the children, and that really no long-term plans have been made for the introduction of universal education, which is the most important basis for democracy?

Of course, I agree with the importance of this subject, and each of the three territories which the hon. Member mentions devotes a large proportion of its revenue to education. Where we possibly can, through C.D. and W. and other methods, we aim to help.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that Kenya, in particular, has an outstanding record in this education matter compared with other Colonial Territories?

Kenya has certainly a very fine record. We have been considering the problems of Kenya's budget with her Finance Minister during the last few days.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are at present the limiting factors on the expansion of the school-building programmes for Kenya, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland.

The limiting factors in these territories as elsewhere are the availability of money for capital and recurrent expenditure, the rate at which teachers cam be trained or recruited from overseas, and the building capacities of the territories.

Could the Colonial Secretary expand that Answer a little by saying what he is doing immediately to try to overcome these limiting factors, that is, to get a bigger grant of money and a more rapid training of teachers?

There are really three main ways in which Her Majesty's Government can help. The first, as I have mentioned, is through the assistance we give through the C.D. and W. Acts; the second through the recently announced scheme for the overseas aid scheme, and, thirdly, through the various schemes which have been developed very recently, schemes for enlisting education co-operation. I think that this is a very good three-pronged attack on this immensely important subject.

Will my right hon. Friend say whether the utmost effort will be put into trade and technical training, because this seems to be the right thing to do at the moment?

I try to do that all the time. My hon. Friend will know the sort of trailer of the announcement which I gave about technical aid from this country. I am sure it is right to concentrate our help to the newly developed countries in the form of technical aid which by and large, as far as this country is concerned, means technical people. We think that this is the best service that we can give.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is proposed on the recommendations of the Hallett Boundary Commission for constituencies in British Guiana.

The Governor of British Guiana made an order on 8th February under the provisions of the British Guiana (Electoral Provisions) Order in Council, 1960, dividing the Colony into the thirty-five constituencies recommended by Sir Hugh Hallett, the Electoral Boundaries Commissioner.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a good deal of feeling in British Guiana that these constituencies are unfair, not only between party and party but, what is more unhappy, between race and race? For example, is he aware that one constituency has less than 10,000 electors while another has more than 20,000 electors? While this problem is difficult, in old-fashioned constituencies as in this country, is it not desirable that as far as possible under the new constitution there should be equal electorates?

No, Sir, I do not think so. We have looked into this very carefully, and perhaps I could just quote that in the 1959 election in this country Horn-church had 87,000 electors and Ross and Cromarty had 25,000 electors. What we are trying to do is to see that the electorates in British Guiana can be got round by individuals and that the terms of reference which were laid down have been carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will instruct the Governor of Northern Rhodesia not to permit the employment of Federal troops in Northern Rhodesia to enforce law and order in the Protectorate.

No, Sir, but Federal troops would not be used except at the request of the Governor, who is himself responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the territory.

Is it not very important at this crucial time to let Sir Roy Welensky know that this country remains responsible for constitutional advance and maintenance of law and order in the Protectorate and that we have no intention of handing over that responsibility to the Federal Government?

I am sure that Sir Roy Welensky knows the position very well. Indeed, in a recent television interview he said that he would not use Federal troops for internal security except at the request of Northern Nigeria.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on Ministerial appointments in Kenya following the elections of the new Legislature.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will meet leaders of the Kenya African National Union and the Kenya African Democratic Union to discuss the formation of a Government during his visit at the end of March to East Africa.

I would refer the hon. Members to my reply to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. G. M. Thomson) on 9th March. As I made clear in a supplementary reply on that occasion, I do not intend to intervene—although naturally I am closely consulted—in the Governor's task of forming a Government.

Whilst I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman wants to see the new Constitution of Kenya get off to a good start, is he not aware that the situation there now is that both the African parties that have a majority are declining to take part in the Administration? Will he take advantage of his coming visit to Tanganyika to spend some time on this problem in Kenya and, in particular, to see Mr. Kenyatta, about whom the trouble largely concentrates, in order to seek to find a solution which will enable a good beginning to be made with the new Constitution?

I should like to answer the hon. Gentleman in words which I hope will go beyond this House and to people in Kenya. The Governor knows perfectly well that he could today form a strong, able and stable Government from people of all races if he released Mr. Kenyatta. There is nothing that Kenya more desires than a strong and stable Government, and I share that desire to the full, but I made it absolutely clear from the first that matters of law and order are not matters on which one can bargain. I hope, therefore, that men of all races who have studied the Governor's statement and have seen the conditions that he has laid down will be able—and feel themselves doing right for Kenya—to take up the portfolios that will be offered to them.

The Colonial Secretary will know that we wish to be fair to him on this question—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] Is he aware that the attitude he is now adopting may well be regarded as a sop to the extreme right wing in Kenya and that he is flying in the face of reality? A stable administration in Kenya can be formed only if the right hon. Gentleman releases Jomo Kenyatta. Is he aware, first, that 95 per cent. of the population of Kenya want Jomo Kenyatta to be released; and, secondly, that the release of Jomo Kenyatta will, in fact, be a contribution to achieving stability?

The House will recognise that I have been asked this question about many men during the eighteen months or so I have been Secretary of State for the Colonies. I have always given the same response; I will in no circumstances bargain about a matter that is fundamental to law and order in the territory.

Will my right hon. Friend recognise that most of us regard the consideration of law and order in respect of the future of Jomo Kenyatta as absolutely cardinal and fundamental, but that at the same time, now that the elections in Kenya have taken place—with the result that I think many of the Africans had hoped for beforehand—every step should be taken to encourage them to do what he has just said: to accept the responsibility which those elections have placed upon them and take their part in trying to govern the country in which they live?

I very much agree with that, and I know that it is in that spirit that the Governor is approaching his present consultations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proposals he has with regard to the future of the coastal protectorate in Kenya.

I have nothing to add to the reply made on this subject by the then Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations on 5th April, 1960.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that probably the best solution might be found within the context of an East African Federation? Will he discuss this matter when he goes to East Africa next week? Will he visit Zanzibar?

I shall visit Zanzibar, and it may be that this will come up in discussions; but it is a matter which will have to be resolved at some time in the future. I am inclined to agree with my hon. Friend that this and many other problems in East Africa could be more easily solved in the context of federation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make available Command Paper No. 9081, 1954, Memorandum on the Mau Mau Oath Ceremonies, at present only available in the Library of the House of Commons, to the list of persons submitted to him by the hon. Member for Carlisle; and if he will meanwhile withhold further advice to the Governor of Kenya relative to the release of Jomo Kenyatta.

Copies of the document concerned were distributed to public libraries, where they are available at the discretion of the librarian on application. As regards the second part of the Question, I have already made the position clear in the House.

Although, on the one hand, from the point of view of its obscene content, this paper is not far outside the bounds of "Lady Chatterley's Lover", there has, on the other hand, never been any suggestion at any time that the late Mr. D. H. Lawrence should be made Prime Minister of Great Britain? Is not that analogous to what has been suggested in the House today, and is it not repugnant that anyone associated with those ceremonies should occupy a responsible position in the Commonwealth?

My hon. Friend need not prove to this House that Mau Mau was a bestial movement. We all know that. I made it quite clear in my Answer that copies of this document were not, as my hon. Friend's Question assumes, restricted to the Library of the House of Commons but were distributed to public libraries as well.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if, in view of the recent attacks on Europeans in Kenya, reminiscent of the Mau Mau days, he will amplify the reference in the Governor's broadcast of 1st March to the security risk involved in releasing Jomo Kenyatta now; and if the Kenya police force have traced any organisation behind these attacks.

There is no evidence of political motivation nor of any organisation behind the recent increase in serious crime in Kenya which arises mainly from the present economic depression aggravated by the widespread and serious drought and consequential food shortage in many areas, and Europeans have been neither the sole nor even the principal victims. I consider that the Governor's reference in his statement of 1st March to the security risk involved in releasing Jomo Kenyatta puts the position clearly.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that stability and law and order in Kenya will be undermined if he continues to detain Jomo Kenyatta, and on this issue will he not also accept the wise advice of Mr. Nyrere, who says that Jomo Kenyatta should be released?

There can be no swifter way of destroying the prospects for the future of Kenya, which I think are very encouraging at the present time, after the elections than by retreating from a position so carefully and deliberately taken up by the Governor of Kenya and Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what encouragemetn is being given by Her Majesty's Government to private investors to assist in the industrial development of Jamaica.

The encouragement of private investors to assist in the industrial development of Jamaica is primarily a matter for the Jamaican Government. But Her Majesty's Government keep in touch with the office of the Jamaica Government's Industrial Development Corporation in this country and are always anxious to help in any way possible. The Colonial Development Corporation's commitments on housing and industrial projects in Jamaica, supplementary to private investment, total more than £6·5 million.

Although industrial development is going extremely well in Jamaica—with one new factory erected every month—is my hon. Friend aware that it is nevertheless the fact that of this capital a large proportion comes from the United States, a much smaller proportion from Canada, and only a very small proportion indeed from the United Kingdom? Can he and the Jamaican Government together devise a means of correcting this discrepancy in our capital provision?

As long as capital comes from a friendly Power and from this country, I believe that our official sources of capital formation should be devoted to the more backward areas where the need for capital is even greater than it is in Jamaica.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what plans he has regarding the future rôle of the Colonial Development Corporation in the West Indies after the Federation becomes independent.

The Colonial Development Corporation will, after independence, be able to continue with projects approved prior to independence, and also to undertake advisory and managerial functions at the request of the West Indian authorities.

My hon. Friend will be aware, as most hon. Members possibly are, of the C.D.C. conditions of operation in countries like Ghana and Malaya when they emerged to independence, but am I not right in thinking that there has never been laid down any immutable policy on this, or any firm statement that C.D.C. conditions of operating will necessarily and rigidly be applied in any and every country exactly as they were in those two countries? I hope my hon. Friend will not say that today but that he still has an open mind on the extent of C.D.C. operations.

We are bound to a large extent by the 1958 Act. There are, of course, other means of helping emergent territories which are more effective and appropriate—Commonwealth assistance loans and the various promises we have made to the West Indies in what is called the Manley Agreement, which continues to 1964.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that that very inadequate answer is a reflection of the delays in coming to a decision about the future policy of the Colonial Development Corporation, and in the statement of future policy, promised very shortly, will not the Government seriously reconsider the policy of allowing the Colonial Development Corporation, which has played a very big role in the Caribbean, to go on beyond independence and to extend its operations?

I do not want to anticipate my right hon. Friend's statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the state of unrest in Sierra Leone and the arrest of the executive committee of the All People's Congress; whether he is aware that elected members of the House of Representatives have been arrested by the police and their homes searched; and whether he will make a statement on the present situation in Sierra Leone.

Recently a campaign has developed under the auspices of the All People's Congress in favour of a general election before independence. In the course of demonstrations organised by the party, a number of arrests were made and certain people, including some leaders of the party, have been charged before the Sierra Leone courts with certain offences.

Is the Minister aware that I have in my hands, received today, a resolution carried by the Sierra Leone Council of Labour, a non-political, moderate body representing 30,000 trade unionists in Sierra Leone, threatening passive resistance because of an anti-trade union law which is now before the House of Representatives? Is he aware also that the Member of Parliament for Kono, one of the two opposition Members of the House of Representatives, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment merely for criticising a Paramount Chief. Further, is the Minister aware that Wallace Johnson, a well-known African figure, who was on his way to London, has been arrested and has been compelled to put down bail of £700? Is he aware also that the Constitution has not been published—

Order. The hon. Gentleman's question is out of order because of its inordinate length and composition. Will the hon. Member deal with it in this way? Will he stop there and allow the Minister to answer at this point whatever the question is?

Taking the question up as best I can, the resolution from a labour movement to which the hon. Member has referred is obviously a very different matter from the Question which he has put down, but if he would care to send me details about it I will, of course, look into it.

Does the Minister realise that some of the disquiet which does exist to a certain extent in Sierra Leone is caused by the absence of a copy of the Constitution which citizens may study? Will he accelerate the laying of the order, or whatever the required formality is, in order that copies of the Constitution can be available for study in Sierra Leone? How long have we to wait for the Bill?

That is a very good point, and it is something about which I have been in correspondence with the Sierra Leone Government. Obviously, it would not be appropriate to publish a draft Order. The Order in Council will be published very soon. I believe that it is intended to present the Bill tomorrow to the House of Commons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give the date of the appointment of the Hong Kong Electricity Supply Companies Commission, the date of the publication of the Commission's report and recommendations, the dates of the electricity supply companies' counter-proposals and the Governor's rejection thereof, and the final date by which any further counter-proposals from the companies have to be submitted.

The appointment of the Commission was announced on 10th June, 1959. Its report was published on 20th January, 1960. Counter-proposals by the two electricity supply companies were put forward on 24th October, 1960, and were rejected by the Government on 27th January, 1961. On 18th February the Hong Kong Government put fresh proposals to the companies, whose reply is expected in the near future.

Is this not a disturbing state of affairs? Is it not a fact that the Commission took six months to find that there was a need to nationalise the electric power supply companies, and is the Minister aware that in evidence to the Commission the power companies made it quite clear that there was no halfway house between private enterprise and public ownership? Are not the Government now going unduly out of their way to find a method by which these private enterprise undertakings which have fallen down on their responsibilities can be allowed to continue?

No, Sir. It is very important that these negotiations should go on, and I hope that there will be a very satisfactory conclusion to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how much rice and other foodstuffs have been imported into or passed through Hong Kong coming from China since the famine conditions started on the Chinese mainland.

Imports of rice, frozen meat and poultry, fresh fruit and soya beans in the last four months showed no significant changes from imports in the same period in 1959–60. There has, however, been a noticeable falling off in imports of fresh meat and poultry, eggs, fish and fresh vegetables. The shortfall has to a large extent been made good from other sources. There are no significant re-exports of food imported from China.

Does my hon. Friend not think that it would be a kindness and a help to the people of China if these imports were for the moment discouraged while there are famine conditions in China, so that food could be diverted to the famine area.

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what precise inducements are being offered to girls in Aden Colony to become student nurses; what progress is being made in this respect in the Aden Protectorates; to what extent progress in improved sanitation in working-class accommodation has been effected; and what further action has been taken to suppress the sale and usage of qat and to publicise its deleterious consequences to health.

Intending student nurses are offered accelerated increments during training, and six additional increments on the completion of training. There are good prospects of early promotion and opportunities for further training in the United Kingdom to qualify for the posts of assistant matron and matron.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the personal eulogy. Does he agree that the number of trained nurses and nursing trainees in Aden Colony is altogether inadequate and that much more must be done in order to overcome prejudice and secure the number of nurses required for the hospital service in Aden?

In reply to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, there are, of course, 27 vacancies for trainees and only 22 people so far have come forward. We are broadcasting to try to bring more people in.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what political parties now exist in Aden Colony; which of these accept the present constitution; what developments have been initiated by the Ministers in charge; and approximately how many persons are now unemployed.

Three organisations which are primarily political are registered; the South Arabian League, which does not accept the present constitution, and the United National Party and the Independence Party, which do. I am placing in the Library a copy of the Aden Government's Administrative Survey for 1960, which describes developments during the year under the various Government Departments for which the Colony Ministers are responsible. The number of unemployed registered with the Labour Department is 2,644.

Could the Minister add a word about the work of the Ministers in charge and say whether these Departments are now working satisfactorily and whether progress has been registered at all by any one of them?

If the hon. Gentleman will look at the Report in the Library, I am sure that he will be satisfied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what requests he has received from the eight Nyasas recently imprisoned in South Africa for repatriation to Nyasaland; what information he has received from the Government of Nyasaland about this matter; and what action he intends to take to ensure that these men receive the appropriate protection.

Neither I nor the Governor has received any request direct from the persons concerned. The representation of the interests of persons from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is in any event the responsibility of the Federal Government through the Federal High Commissioner in the Union.

If the hon. Gentleman has not seen copies, will he accept it from me that the affidavits made by these eight Nyasas constitute a terrible record of arbitrary arrest and shocking cruelty to prisoners? May I send him a copy and will he undertake to consider and discuss with his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what action has been taken to repatriate these men, every one of whom has expressed a desire to go back to his own country of Nyasaland?

Yes, Sir.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that many of us in this House are deeply disturbed at the position of British subjects in the Union of South Africa and their subjection to arbitrary arrest? While the responsibility for this territory does not lie with him, can he assure us that adequate arrangements are made to safeguard the position of people from other territories who may be in South Africa and subject to this form of arbitrary arrest?

Until 31st May this is a matter for the Commonwealth Relations Office and such questions should be addressed to that Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many colonial Governors in the last 10 years have been citizens of Commonwealth countries other than Great Britain.

Seven Governors have come from outside Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. Is it the policy to encourage the appointment from other Commonwealth countries, and has this been discussed with the representatives of the Commonwealth now here?

No, Sir, not specially. A large number of people from the Commonwealth join in the overseas service, but in general the largest number come from this country.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether any of these recruits come from the newer Commonwealth countries and, if not, will he give consideration to encouraging recruitment from those countries?

They have their own local problems and there is a shortage of civil servants in these territories.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will expand the Colonial Service into a Commonwealth service available for administrative and technical assistance anywhere within the Commonwealth.

For the reasons given in the Command Paper on Service with Overseas Governments my right hon. Friend does not consider that it would be practicable to change the present Overseas Civil Service into a general Commonwealth Service based on the United Kingdom and ultimately employed by Her Majesty's Government. But we still have before us the recommendation of the Select Committee on Estimates that there should be a study of the possibility of a Commonwealth Advisory and Technical Service and, as my right hon. Friend told Parliament on 19th December last, we hope that this can be examined further after a decision has been reached about the setting up of a joint Department concerned with technical assistance for countries overseas.

May I ask first, when the hon. Gentleman may be in a position to give us further information on this project and, secondly, whether he would also consider making this service available outside the Commonwealth in places where technical assistance is wanted, for instance, in the Congo?

I think the hon. Gentleman should await the statement from my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the rate of increase of population in Fiji for the Fijian and Indian population, respectively, at the last available estimate.

At the last census in 1956 the Fijian population was 148,134 and the Indian population 169,403. These figures showed increases of 26 per cent. and 41 per cent., respectively, over the previous census in 1946. Since 1956 it is estimated that the Fijian population has increased by a further 13 per cent. and the Indian population by a further 17 per cent.

Will the Minister agree that in Fiji, as in many other territories, economic development is well-nigh impossible unless the population increase is controlled? Will he undertake to implement one of the major recommendations of the Burns Commission by setting up family planning facilities in Fiji and not yield to the minority religious opinion in this country which is hostile to the idea of family planning?

I happen to be part of that religious minority. But this is quite a different matter in Fiji, where the main answer to the Fijian problem is to increase agricultural production and bring in new industries. In addition, we have increased the number of family planning centres from five to seven; but I still believe our main purpose must be to see that the resources of Fiji are properly used so that it can sustain a larger population than there is there today.

Does the Minister say that he does not accept the recommendation of the Burns Commission on this matter?

Family planning centres and birth control facilities are entirely different matters, as the hon. Gentleman must know. One of the recommendations of the Burns Commission which we accepted was that there should be advice on family planning, but the further recommendation, or suggestion, that there should be a free issue of contraceptives has not been accepted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proposals he has in mind for bringing unused land into use and for establishing new industries in Fiji.

With regard to the first part of the hon. Member's Question, the declaration of reserves is being accelerated and the Land Reserve Commissioners are concentrating on areas best suited to development so that land may be made available for long-term leases at the earliest possible date. Proposals for a Land Development Authority are in draft and increased funds are being made available for agricultural loans.

Is the Minister aware of the substantial opinion in this country and indeed in Fiji that the recommendations of the Burns Commission which are being implemented are the minor ones and that the major one—the bringing of unused land into use, the establishment of new industries, and the recasting of the Fijian Administration—are not being implemented and that the latter are obviously the important ones?

I must disagree. I think that what are being implemented are of great importance—the development of land, the development of industry and also these new long leases and other improvements in addition to improvements inside the Administration. I believe that these are very important recommendations. The last thing we want to create is violent hostility between the Indian and the Fijian population.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to minimise flooding in the Stanley and Methley areas by demolishing the Penbank Weir on the River Calder, which is not required for navigable purposes.

The Yorkshire Ouse River Board, which is the responsible authority, has started work for the alleviation of flooding at Methley. This work is receiving grant-aid from this Department. I understand from the board that the removal of Pen-bank Weir would have little effect on high flood levels in this area.

Is the Minister aware that the interested parties many years ago agreed that if this artificial barrier were destroyed it would reduce to some extent the flooding in that part of the country?

The river board has looked into this. I understand that this weir is "drowned", as it is technically described, during times of high flood. The lands which are flooded behind the weir are washlands, which, of course, frequently help when there is flooding.

Will the Minister cause further inquiry to be made into this, because the information tendered to him is not quite accurate? Is he aware that this weir serves no useful purpose at all and that many acres of land by the river are flooded? Is he aware that farmers who work on the land and market gardeners who have had a very hard job are thoroughly saddened when year by year their crops are ruined? Is he aware that this may be prevented if this weir were destroyed?

I will look into this matter again, but the hon. Member's information is not entirely the same as mine. The hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. A. Roberts), with whom we have been in correspondence, knows that we have been in close touch with the river board and the local authorities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what exchanges are proposed between advisory officers of his Department and New Zealand district officers.

My hon. Friend will, no doubt, remember that a proposal to exchange advisory officers was discussed with the New Zealand Government when he accompanied my right hon. Friend's predecessor on his visit to New Zealand in 1959. Although agreement in principle on many points was reached last year, it has not been possible to make firm arrangements as yet.

Would my hon. Friend take advantage of the visit to this country of the Prime Minister of New Zealand to press this matter, because it could be of mutual advantage to both countries?

We appreciate, and I think that the New Zealand Government appreciate, that it would be of mutual advantage, but a number of practical, financial and personal questions have to be overcome before this could be put into operation.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce legislation to amend the Agriculture Act, 1957, to ensure that grain reception pits and pre-holding bins, of a kind that a prudent landlord, having regard to their cost and all other circumstances, would make himself or pay compensation to a tenant for making, are eligible for a grant.

Since putting down this Question I have discovered that I have an interest in it, which I now formally wish to declare.

If pits and bins conform with the tests my hon. Friend describes they are already eligible. Many are ineligible because they are movable or form part of the grain handling equipment that a tenant would normally provide, as he does much other working equipment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will institute an inquiry into the intensive methods of food production now being used to provide white veal by the Dutch method of rearing calves and chickens by the broiler and battery systems, with a view to ending unnecessary cruelty.

No, Sir, I do not think that an inquiry is necessary. It is already an offence under the Protection of Animals Act, 1911, to cause unnecessary suffering to animals including calves and chickens.

Is the Minister aware that most people, including most farmers, would agree that the creatures we kill for food have a right to live naturally before we take their lives? Would he not agree that under new intensive methods of food production there is unnaturalness and unnecessary cruelty?

The hon. Member referred to living naturally, but the whole process of domestication of animals can be regarded as to some extent an interference with Nature. There is a difference of opinion about the degree of interference, but the experiments which have been carried out on this type of rearing of animals show that it certainly can be done without cruelty. What we should bear in mind is that if this is to be a successful operation the animal must thrive and that if there is a question of cruelty and the animal is suffering it does not thrive—and there is no evidence to show that.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in my constituency there is an example of this form of rearing of veal calves and I should be very happy to arrange for any hon. Member to visit that establishment to see that this mode of rearing veal can be done without cruelty?

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications he received for ploughing-up grants in the county of Cornwall during the years 1959–60 and 1960–61; how many were paid; and what was the total sum so disbursed.

The current ploughing grant scheme does not end until 31st May, but during the calendar year 1960 £324,800 was paid out on 7,029 claims. For 1959 the figures were £287,300 and 7,018. I regret that the number of applications received is not readily available but it will not differ greatly from the number of claims on which payment was made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration he has given to the report on the deaths of birds and mammals connected with toxic chemicals in the first half of 1960; and whether he will make a statement.

The issues raised by this report have already been considered at a meeting which my Department held on 20th December last with representatives of the interested organisations, including the societies responsible for the report. I have sent the hon. Lady a copy of the statement issued after that meeting which records the measures agreed for dealing with this problem, including a special survey of wild life casualties, with post-mortem examinations. The report is also being considered by the Research Study Group which is examining the need for further research into the effects of toxic chemicals used in agriculture. I trust that these arrangements will provide valuable evidence on which to base any further action which may seem necessary.

But does the Minister appreciate that since 22nd February over 40 cases not only of pigeons but of song-birds, pheasants and hares believed to have been killed by seed dressings have been reported to one of these societies? Would the right hon. Gentleman therefore, as a matter of urgency while these other measures are being considered, send out a circular as a supplement to his list of approved chemicals, drawing attention to chemicals like Dieldrin which are particularly dangerous and need very special care in handling?

As to the numbers of animals which have been found dead, we have instructed our pest officers in every region to try to collect any bodies of animals or birds which might have died from poisoning and we will have an examination made of them. A circular has been sent to members by the National Farmers' Union, and a circular is being sent out by the Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants to their people about the dressing of seeds. I think that during this year we shall be able to make considerable progress in education in the use of these seed dressings and I hope that we shall have valuable information on which we shall be able to consider future action.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reply he made to the memorandum on the bacon industry in Great Britain submitted to him recently by the British Bacon Curers' Federation.

The memorandum mainly concerned matters affecting the Annual Review about which I shall be making a statement at the end of Questions.

Has the Minister taken into account in that Price Review the fact that bacon factories in this country are working at less than half capacity and that more than three times what is there produced represents imports from outside the United Kingdom? Will the right hon. Gentleman see that there is stability for production in the bacon factories, because that in its turn produces stability for the pig producers?

I must ask the hon. Gentleman, broadly speaking, to await the statement which I shall make, but he will appreciate that there is a limit to the extent to which guarantee arrangements can be modified in the interests of one section of the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from what organisations in Wales he has received representations in connection with the Annual Price Review.

There have, as usual, been consultations under the Agriculture Act, 1947, with the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales. I have also received representations from the Farmers' Union of Wales.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, might I ask him whether some of the representations do not remind him that there are in Wales peculiar agricultural problems in addition to the problems which obtain all over the United Kingdom?

I am well aware of the problems among agriculturists in Wales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the cost of re-equipping the fishing fleet to meet the different conditions which will result from the agreement with Iceland.

Decisions on the best way to re-equip the distant water fleet are a matter for the industry in the light of experimental work that has been and will be carried out with Governmental assistance. No estimate can be made until the views of the industry have been formed.

Did not the Government consider this, seeing that it was one of the factors which they brought into calculation when they agreed to the Iceland terms? Surely they cannot now say that they agreed blindly to the Iceland terms without knowing what the rough cost would be?

The two things can be linked too simply in the hon. Gentleman's mind. Whether the Iceland agreement lasted for three years or whether it lasted for more, the fact remains that the industry appreciates that there is a good deal to do in the way of new ships—new freezing ships and the like—and in experimentation with different types of ship, and that is being proceeded with.

Can my right hon. Friend at least say when the distant-water section will come within the ambit of the grants and loans scheme?

As my hon. Friend knows, that is being considered along with many other matters arising out of the Fleck Report.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions in 1959 and 1960 he has served directions on commodity owners and custodians requiring them to carry out treatment prescribed by the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act, 1949.

None, Sir.

Is my hon. Friend aware that owing to the increasing habit of the use of bulk storage, both on farms and in depots, there has been a great deal more infestation recently than in the past? Does he not think that the regulations need strengthening?

I could not agree with the whole of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, but it must be admitted that bulk handling and storage provides greater opportunities for infestation. However, our officers are advising farmers and others about how to deal with this problem.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will reconsider his refusal of a grant in respect of bulk feed storage bins made by Mr. F. J. Chamberlayne, details of which have been given to him; and if he will make a statement.

No, Sir. I am advised that bins of the kind that Mr. Chamberlayne proposes to install fall outside the provisions of the Act since they are of a kind normally provided by a tenant and not by a landlord.

Does not the Joint Parliamentary Secretary realise that these bins are a permanent structure, that bins of this kind fall within the Act and that grants have been made on such bins; that they are the most up-to-date, most economical and most labour-saving, according to the National Farmers' Union; and that we can save money for the public by applying a grant to these bins instead of to more costly methods? Will the Joint Parliamentary Secretary explain why his own Advisory Service is now advocating the building of feed bins of this type?

I am not disputing that what Mr. Chamberlayne is installing is up-to- date, but in my original reply I gave the reasons why these fall outside the provisions of the Act, where it is very clearly stated that these grants are designed for the longer-term improvement of agricultural land and not for the provision of miscellaneous equipment. However, if the hon. Gentleman feels that an injustice has been done to his constituent, I hope he will get in touch with me and supply the details.

When the officers recommend that these bins should be installed, do they also point out that they do not come within the Act?

I am sure they do. I think that sometimes in the early stages of a scheme like this approval has not been entirely consistent—I will admit that—but today it is entirely clear which form of equipment falls within and which without the Farm Improvements Scheme.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has had from the Agricultural Research Council about the progress of the chemical control of bracken; and when he expects to have sufficient evidence to allow chemical spraying to rank for Government grant under the Eradication of Bracken Scheme.

My right hon. Friend has been kept in close touch with the trials carried out by the Agricultural Research Council's Weed Research Organisation. They do not as yet provide conclusive evidence of the degree of effectiveness of chemical control of bracken. I am afraid it is not possible to say when or whether the evidence from these trails will justify grant-aid for this method of bracken control.

Will my hon. Friend give an assurance that, as soon as he gets a satisfactory report about any one of the chemicals with which experiments are now being carried out, he will allow it to be used under the Eradication of Bracken Scheme?

I can tell my hon. Friend that we are as anxious as he is to secure effective control of bracken, but I cannot give the specific assurance for which he asks in such a case. The House will realise from my reply to an earlier Question how careful one must be with any form of chemical spray.

Will the hon. Gentleman consider other forms of control such as the use of cattle and pigs on the land to destroy the bracken?

All these various methods—including both good husbandry, such as the right hon. Gentleman mentioned, and control by various methods of cultivation are well known.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider making arrangements whereby the fertiliser subsidy far agricultural use is paid direct to the manufacturer instead of to individual farmers, with a view to saving administrative costs.

This has been considered on a number of occasions. If it were done it would be difficult to ensure that the full benefit would go to agriculture as required by statute. It is therefore thought that the present arrangement is the best.

Is my hon. Friend aware that it was because I considered the previous replies unsatisfactory that I have raised the matter again? Is it not the case that at present the Ministry has to supply forms to the merchants, the merchants have to send the forms to the farmers to complete part of them, the farmers then send them back to the merchants to complete the other half, the merchants then send the forms to the Ministry to be checked and the Ministry then pays the individual farmers separately? Surely there could be a considerable saving in administrative costs?

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of the anxiety of smallholders and farmers in the Canwell area of Staffordshire, arising out of shortage of water for milk production purposes; whether he is aware that the leakage in the existing water supply system, referred to in correspondence with the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth, has now been discovered and rectified; and what steps he proposes now, in conjunction with the Birmingham Corporation and the South Staffordshire Water Board, to improve the overall supply of water to this area which is still inadequate.

My right hon. Friend is aware that there have been seasonal shortages of water on the Canwell Smallholdings Estate. As the hon. Member says, the Birmingham Corporation, which owns the estate and is responsible for its management, has repaired the leakage which was aggravating the trouble. I understand the corporation is considering plans to improve the supply to this area generally.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that these smallholders, numbering twenty-one, feel that they have been neglected by the Smallholdings Committee of Birmingham Corporation? Is he also aware that already this year one supply of milk has been rejected because of lack of cooling water? Will he ask Birmingham Corporation to expedite and increase an overall supply and not continue to neglect these smallholders?

Leaving aside the question of neglect, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are in touch with Birmingham Corporation, which is responsible for the management of these smallholdings. The hon. Gentleman will know that my right hon. Friend is not responsible for water supplies, not being the statutory undertaker. As I have said, we have been in touch with the Birmingham Corporation, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that improvements are now being planned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct the Forestry Commission to refuse to approve grants or loans to private afforestation concerns proposing to plant in national parks until their afforestation schemes are approved by the local National Park Committee.

No, Sir.

Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that there has been very considerable dismay among farmers' committees since they have heard about the scheme for private afforestation, particularly in the South-West? Would not this method be a most effective way of controlling private afforestation?

No, Sir. I know that there has been certain concern, though "dismay" is rather too strong. It is certainly not the Forestry Commission's responsibility to make or to withhold grants other than in pursuance of its duty to promote the interests of forestry. The Forestry Commission and the National Parks Commission have recently entered into a voluntary agreement with the interests concerned under the leadership of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government, and it is hoped that that will solve the difficulty.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement as to the cause of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

This primary outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease occurred among cattle and pigs on premises at Bridgnorth on 10th March. The pigs had been fed on swill which may well have contained infected imported meat which had not been properly treated.

Order. I trust that hon. Members will make their conversations a little quieter so that we can hear the Questions and Answers.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, following the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Sir A. Hurd) on 2nd March, there is the gravest concern in the Bridgnorth area regarding this danger from swill? Would he consider if additional safeguard can be introduced against this danger?

We are always considering additional safeguards, but I hope my hon. Friend has noted the last words of my original reply, which were that the infected meat had not been properly treated.