Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1926.
I believe many of the troubles which we are now encountering in this country are due to the fact that ours is probably the most densely populated country in the world, and I believe the solution of our difficulties lies in the development of our overseas Empire. If there is a silver fining to the black cloud which has been over us for some time, it is that it has made us realise the necessity of co-operating with our Dominions and developing our Colonies. In the last 20 years, the Dominions have definitely taken their places as free self-governing nations among the nations of the world, and during that same period it has become apparent that we must develop our Crown Colonies. In order to do that, we are dependent upon the increase of population and the provision of further transport facilities. The problems which face the Dominions Office and those which face the Crown Colonies Office are entirely different. The functions of the Dominions Office are almost entirely diplomatic, whereas the functions of the Crown Colonies Office are nothing more or less than administrative—almost, if one might say so, bureaucratic. When the Government decided to separate the Dominions Office from the Crown Colonies Office, they did so more in theory than in practice. The only tangible change apparently was the appointment of another Under-Secretary of State for the Dominions.
I submit that the problems with which we have to deal in our Dominions and Colonies are of such importance that the Dominions Office and the Crown Colonies Office each deserves to have a full-time Minister. I do not think one can possibly over-emphasise that point. I think it is unfair to place on the shoulders of one man responsibility for the affairs of the Dominions as well as for the affairs of the Crown Colonies. If it is necessary, as undoubtedly it is, to have a Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to maintain good relations between this country and foreign countries, it is even more important to have a Minister who is responsible for, and is charged with, the maintenance of diplomatic relations between the six British self-governing nations and this country. We have a British League of Nations in the seven self-governing British nations and, surely, it is important that it should be held together whatever else happens. It is certainly the greatest factor for world peace.
This country, as the senior partner in the British firm, was perfectly right in arranging originally for Imperial Conferences to be held from time to time in this country. The only way in which the Dominions and this country can co-operate for the mutual advantage of all is for us to get a real understanding of the difficulties which have to be faced in the various parts of the Empire. Those difficulties are so diverse that it is only by meeting together and discussing them that we can each realise what are the troubles which have to be faced elsewhere. If it is important, and if it serves an excellent purpose—as it undoubtedly does—to have Imperial Conferences in this country from time to time, it is equally important that the Secretary of State for the Dominions, whenever he gets an opportunity, should visit the Dominions, One. can always understand and gain a general idea of the difficulties which exist in the Dominions, but I do not think that even a man of the ability of the present Secretary of State can make himself conversant with all the details of the difficulties in the Dominions simply by hearsay, and he ought to go and see what these troubles are on the spot. It is the only way in which to get a real idea of the difficulties to be encountered.
Therefore I submit that the office of Secretary of State for the Dominions ought to be a whole-time job. In addition to what I may call, our own Imperial family diplomatic affairs, he must collaborate with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on matters of Imperial foreign policy, and I think the job is big enough for one man. Again, the office of Secretary of State for the Crown Colonies seems to me to be a whole-time job in itself. I do not think the people of this country realise that the Secretary of State for the Crown Colonies is the bureaucratic administrator of 2,600,000 square miles and nearly 50,000,000 people. Only a small proportion of our Crown Colonies have any real form of self-government, as we understand it, and not only is the Secretary of State for the Crown Colonies directly responsible for political administration, but he is also responsible for the installation, maintenance and operation of practically all public utilities and services such as railways and all forms of transportation. Furthermore, he is responsible for the Government medical services which, in many parts of Africa, are the only medical services available.
I think it has become more and more clear to those interested in the development of our Crown Colonies that that development depends on two things—population and transport. Population, again, depends upon the medical and sanitary services which the Government is able to instal and maintain in those countries. While the Colonial Office has encouraged the Crown Colonies, from time to time, to put in and maintain public utilities and to develop transportation and so forth at their own expense, we in this country have done little more than encourage them and give them authority to spend their own money.