Orders of the Day — Dominion and Colonial Affairs.

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1926.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Sir Gerald Strickland Sir Gerald Strickland , Lancaster

With all respect, I suggested that as an example. I myself, as a Governor—and this does refer to the Colonial Department—have been repeatedly corrected and criticised, and, if I had not been corrected and criticised, and if I had not profited thereby, during my first Governorship, I should not have held a second, a third and a fourth. The policy of not giving admonitions to people in authority, or the policy of people in authority being reluctant to receive them, has resulted in a swing of the pendulum the opposite of the very regrettable policy that was pursued in the Amritsar case I have just mentioned; we now observe the contrary policy, that of supporting the man on the spot, right or wrong. That policy, in my opinion, is demoralising to all concerned. I need not refer to any one Colony. We have also instances in Jamaica and in Cyprus, which, at least, are so notorious that no one can possibly gainsay them. I believe that if our Empire is to progress on the old lines that built it up, there must be strict discipline, and it must not be thought that if persons have a high position, special social influence and so forth, they can do anything they like differently from the ordinary Colonial official in carrying out the duties of government.

I wish to refer to other points in connection with the Imperial Service, as they were presented to me in Australia, and I think some important advance in organisation can be suggested. There are at present members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council who have been made full members of that body in recognition of the services they have rendered to the Empire in high judicial posts in Canada, South Africa or Australia. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is a most important constitutional link between the outer Dominions and the Crown, and I feel strongly that that link should be developed and made more substantial and practical. It is now, in fact, almost impracticable for a member of the Judicial Committee living in Australia to come and exercise his rights and privileges as a member by reason of the distance and the expense. There was a case when one of the Judges from Australia went on leave on half-pay in order to sit on the Judicial Committee de facto. From the point of view of a great Imperial organisation, it is not becoming to give a privilege or a right which cannot be exercised. It is illusory; it is not complimentary. Something should be done to make it less illusory—it has already happened in one case, that of a Chief Justice for South Africa who sat frequently on the Committee, but that was an exception. The system does not work. Additional force would be given to the unity of the Empire if some leading Judges from the Dominions were sitting on the Judicial Committee permanently and regularly. We should have a better link with the luminaries of the Bar of Canada, South Africa, Australia or from wherever it might be, This would be of great value, because these high dignitaries early with them a vast amount inexperience, of political influence, and they command general respect.

9.0 P.M.

I agree with the last speaker on the other side, who pointed out that the unity of the Empire at present had better be sought for on commercial lines, and that we should not be in too great a hurry to push the unification of the Empire on political lines or by constitutional enactments. I spent many years in studying methods of approaching the problem of unification on constitutional lines, and can only suggest small steps, although I have been in contact with leaders who have made constitutions and with those who made the Commonwealth of Australia. I wish to say that the next step to approach a solution of the problem is to strengthen the present constitutional position of the Privy Council in relation to Colonies and Dominions. The Privy Council is a constitutional body which is already in existence. It requires no new legislation to develop its usefulness. It is easy to modify and expand it, and every statesman understands its powers. My suggestion is that at the next Imperial Conference my right hon. Friend should approach the Premiers of the Dominions with the suggestion that the Empire acknowledges that more unity could be established by strengthening the Judicial Committee than, say, by maintaining a third-class cruiser or a gunboat costing tens of thousands of pounds a year—not that I wish to say anything to detract from the Navy; I rather would have the Income Tax increased than diminish the Navy by a single ship or a single man. But it is so important not to offer our Colonies empty compliments and honours that cannot be enjoyed that it should be made possible for the leading Judges of the Dominions who are members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to come to London and sit there in turn. That can only be done by paying them. Of course, the great Dominions would, on reflection, pay them themselves, after the question is put before them; but in order that all parties may have time to understand the importance of this development, we should begin by offering to pay for the reform ourselves.

Another point is the selection and appointment of Governors. It is not complimentary to the great Dominions that they should be made a dumping ground for politicians. The office is a very delicate and complicated one. The Australians, the South Africans and the New Zealanders have approached the frame of mind that they want to get value for their money, so much so that they are reluctant to keep a Governor, or have him promoted, unless he spends about as much again as they paid him. It is obvious that that system has become ridiculous. The Colonial Service, under competitive examination, no longer furnishes recruiting ground for that purpose; the enormous increase of gubernatorial expenses continues, but the salaries remain much as they were more than a generation ago. It is, therefore, impossible to fill those posts from the Colonial Service, but the Service is one of the best, and if the Service were divided into two categories, one branch of officials who have expectations of promotion up to the point of becoming Colonial Secretaries and stopping there, and another branch of men who are willing and able, financially and socially, to begin as administrators, say, in the West Indian Islands or as Colonial Secretaries, and have the prospect to work up to be Governors, you would have an end to the present condition of affairs, which is so heartbreaking and deplorable, and has resulted in five of the six Australian States asking for the abolition of State Governors.

My hon. Friends on this side of the House are always decrying the sweating system. There is no more sweated industry than the Governor business, except, perhaps, that of being Secretary of State on a salary established in generations past. I think it is a reproach to modern democracy and to the Labour party that the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the manager of this great Empire and one who for ability and industry has not been excelled in recent memory, should be paid by this country at a sum which would be scorned by a manager of a department store in London. I do not suggest a specific remedy for this state of affairs, I cite it as a parallel ease, and, for the sake of argument, to show that the present system of inadequately remunerating Representatives of the King is absolutely unworkable, and I hope the right hon. Gentleman will put the dilemma frankly and plainly before the Imperial Conference and before the representatives of the Australian Government. They are fair and practicable.

I will refer, in conclusion, to the question of the invitation to the Colonial Conferences of persons connected with and belonging to the opposition in the various Dominions. I remember a despatch submitting the desirability of this step to the Colonial Department when I was serving it in Australia. The reason for the suggestion is this: The interest taken in Imperial affairs in Australia is naturally and inevitably almost limited to the class which has travelled, and to the class which has education above the average. The majority of the people cannot be expected to give their mind to outside questions with which they are not directly acquainted or financial interested, especially in a country so sparsely populated as Australia. It is no reproach to the Australians to say this. I remember during the War a Westmorland squire going up to a farmer, who said, "Do you not know that a great battle was fought yesterday? Do you not know that a War is on?" said the squire, and the farmer said, "No. I hope they have fine weather." If this want of interest happened in England, the same may be understood of Australia. All Imperial questions in Australia should be taken out of the ambit of party politics, and in order to do that some method should be discovered for making it possible to invite the representatives of the opposition to the Conference without offending in the least the Government themselves. It is undeniable that the Colonial Conference should be composed essentially of the governing Ministers. That is the principle on which such conferences are based, and it must be respected.

An important phrase was used with reference to the question of Imperial expansion by the Secretary of State at the annual meeting of the Empire Parliamentary Association. It was inspiring when he pointed out that future gatherings here in London by the Empire Parliamentary Association of the leading statesmen of all shades of opinion from the various Dominions gave us hope that we had therein the nucleus of a Parliament of the Empire—so far an embryonic conception, but in truth a brilliant idea. Meanwhile a step is possible on a precedent of the first Colonial Conference of 1887, and I think I am the one alive who was a member at that Conference. I represented a Crown Colony myself, and others were invited only to the first meeting. We were told that if we were wanted again we should be asked again. So be it with representatives of Dominion Oppositions; that the representatives of the opposition in the Colonies could also be invited to the first meeting and to many of the social and other gatherings and to any meeting which do not technically require the sole, presence and sole decision by vote of responsible Ministers of the Governments themselves. It is a very practical suggestion, and the importance lies in this. In this country the leisured class is very large and there is no difficulty in finding persons to represent constituencies in this country. But those who have the leisure and knowledge of politics and the time to take part in these discussions in the overseas Empire are few. At every election a certain number are knocked out, and good men are a real loss to a young country. I conclude by hoping that these suggestions may be considered as coming from one who has made a life study of many of these questions.