Oral Answers to Questions — Palestine – in the House of Commons am ar 11 Gorffennaf 1922.
Colonel Josiah Wedgwood
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any steps are being taken to discover the amount of the debt to the Chartered Company in respect of North and South Rhodesia, in accordance with the recommendations of Lord Buxton's Committee; if so, when the case for North Rhodesia will come before the Privy Council; and, if not, whether it is proposed to settle with the company without knowing what the legal debt may be?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Dundee
As regards Southern Rhodesia, further consideration of the recommendations of Lord Buxton's Committee with regard to the determination of the deductions to be made from the Cave award has been deferred pending the taking of the proposed referendum as to the future of the territory. As regards Northern Rhodesia, the arrangements for the proposed reference to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the British South Africa Company's claims, including the claim to reimbursement of the administrative deficits, are still under examination.
Colonel Josiah Wedgwood
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Is it not unfair to take a referendum in Southern Rhodesia when the people of the colony who are voting are unaware what liability independence will put upon their shoulders?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Dundee
I was inclined to think further delay might have been advantageous, but it is the wish of the elected body there that a referendum should be held as rapidly as possible.
Colonel Josiah Wedgwood
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Is not the delay-on the part of His Majesty's Government, who have delayed discovering exactly what the debt is?
Mr Winston Churchill
, Dundee
I am sure if a fault lies anywhere, it is with His Majesty's Government!
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state.
As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which The Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted. Its day to day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty's Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, that is all Cabinet Ministers and a number of junior Ministers. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called "Right Honourable".
The Privy Council still meets regularly, on average once a month, but, as with the Cabinet, most of its business is transacted in discussion and correspondence between its Ministerial members and the Government Departments that advise them. The Privy Council Office (which is itself a Government Department) provides a secretariat for these discussions, as the Cabinet Office does in relation to the business of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.
Meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all "secret" about Privy Council meetings. The myth that the Privy Council is a secretive body springs from the wording of the Privy Counsellor's Oath , which, in its current form, dates back to Tudor times. It requires those taking it to "keep secret all matters...treated of in Council". The Oath (or solemn affirmation for those who cannot take an Oath) is still administered, and is still binding; but it is only in very special circumstances nowadays that matters will come to a Privy Counsellor on "Privy Council terms". These will mostly concern matters of the national interest where it is important for senior members of Opposition parties to have access to Government information.
