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 Colonel Josiah Wedgwood Colonel Josiah Wedgwood , Newcastle-under-Lyme

—or in favour of our magnificent system of selecting Governors, is not likely to preserve that Empire. I have in my hand a far better example of how the Empire can be preserved, and that is a report by three settlers of distinction in Southern Rhodesia on the land problem in Rhodesia, and their suggestions for the settlement of that problem. This report, by Mr. Maurice Carter, Sir Herbert Taylor, and another settler, is an admirable example of how all thinking men in this House would like to see our Dominions approach the question of native land and native labour. [Interruption.] No, it is merely an appreciation of the fact that the Englishman in the Dominions has responsibilities to the natives in addition to the desire to get their labour cheaply. I hope hon. Members will read this report. In reading it myself I felt it afforded some consolation for the fact that Southern Rhodesia is an independent Dominion and has not amalgamated with the Union further South. [Interruption.] Southern Rhodesia is as independent as any Dominion. While congratulating those gentlemen on the tone of that report, I want the House to understand the position in Southern Rhodesia, because it is typical of similar problems in all the other countries over which we rule from this House. In Southern Rhodesia 31,000,000 acres have been alienated to whites, 22,000,000 acres are reserved for the natives, and 43,000,000 acres, roughly, have so far not been sold, been alienated at all. The Commission quite fairly state: There is no fear that there is not sufficient land for whites in Rhodesia. In accordance with instructions from the Colonial Office, they proceeded to discuss how the unalienated lands which are still available for distribution are to be distributed between the whites and the blacks. They all agree, and I think their arguments are pretty conclusive, that it is desirable and necessary to segregate the areas, to keep the blacks in certain areas and the whites in certain other areas, so far as the ownership of land is concerned. I was hostile to that idea, but I am bound to say that the Report has convinced me that it is a sound proposition. But when it comes to deciding how the unappropriated lands are to be distributed between the areas where the whites can purchase and the areas where the natives can purchase, then I think strong criticism can he made of the allotment they make of the land. They suggest, in addition to the 31,000,000 acres already alienated to the whites, 17,000,000 acres of the unalienated should go to them; that in addition to their 22,000,000 acres the natives should have another 7,000,000 acres out of the unalienated; that 1,000,000 acres, roughly, should be neutral territory where either blacks or whites might purchase land; and that 18,000,000 acres should still be unalienated.

I want to press upon the Government that they ought to accept the Report of that Commission, the Majority Report, ought to go further and reserve those 18,000,000 unalienated acres as a trust for the natives in the future. Nearly all the territory is in the far North-West, where no white man is and not many natives; but as the native population increases they will require that land, and now is the last opportunity we have for saving that land for them. There are only 40,000 whites in Southern Rhodesia, and they are to have 48,000,000 acres; and it is hardly sufficient for the 800,000 natives to let them have only 8,000,000 acres. The proportion is not fair; least of all is it fair when we remember that up to now every native in Southern Rhodesia has the legal right to purchase land. We are depriving natives of that legal right to purchase land anywhere, and I think we might allot them an area of rather more than 8,000,000 acres where they can buy land for themselves and become satisfactory producers.

There are two other points in the Report to which I will call attention. I am not satisfied that it is desirable to remove all natives from white areas. I think that process, if desirable, must be done very slowly. There must be no Masai evictions, either on a large or small scale. Then I would urge the Secretary of State to say that alien natives not resident in Southern Rhodesia have exactly the same rights as to the purchase of land as natives of that country themselves. The Commissioners, in their Report, are rather against the rights of alien natives. I think it should be a black man's country, whether they be resident in Southern Rhodesia or outside; in Southern Rhodesia we should have a refuge to which natives can come and where they can settle, because their settlement on this territory as workers will add to the properity of the country, increase the labour force, and lead to an opportunity for every black man in the black part of Southern Rhodesia. The important thing is to have the area for black purchasers large enough, and I do not think 8,000,000 acres are enough. We can make that question safe if the unalienated land is kept in trust by the Crown, and I hope the Colonial Secretary, when he comes within the next week or two to a settlement of this question, will watch that issue and try to preserve the rights not merely of the natives who are there to-day but of the millions of natives yet to be born.

Passing from Southern Rhodesia, let me congratulate the Under-Secretary on his tour on the West Coast. I am bound to say that, looking back upon the unfortunate results of his tour to the East Coast, I viewed with some alarm his tour on the West Coast.