Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1926.
Yes, coast lawyers, as my hon. Friend calls them. They have assimilated what we have taught them. A certain number of them persuade the natives to indulge in land litigation. There is a certain amount of no-man's land, the ownership of which is not yet decided. This is due to the fact that in former times the villages were at war with each other, and neutral belts were formed between the villages. Since the British have come there and these wars have stopped, these belts have come into cultivation and nobody knows which land belongs to which village. It seems to me a matter of supreme importance that an end should be put to this leading of illiterate natives into litigation by the lawyers who are not actuated by any desire to help them. We have found in one or two cases that the entire wealth of villages has been mortgaged and not only that, but the incoming wealth for years to come has been mortgaged to meet the expenditure incurred in litigation. One particular native was horror-struck at the suggestion that we should allow lawyers into the Courts. His remark was: "Do you really suggest that two professional liars should be allowed in the Court to confuse the issue so that the Judge will be unable to discern the truth?" That is an indication that the native has not yet reached the sure standard as the European. I should have liked to say a great deal more, but I do not, want to delay my hon. Friend from replying.
These are one or two of the points that have been raised in the Debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Fast Woolwich (Mr. Snell) raised the point of cotton, and I should like to say a word on that question Nigeria is a great cotton-producing country. You see the bales going down day after day to supply in due course our Lancashire mills. The possibility is that in the future America will run short of cotton for export, and Nigeria is one part of the world to which we can look for development to keep our mills supplied. The British manufacturers might find a good market in that country for motor lorries. On the 4,000 miles of motor road in the Gold Coast there are some 2,000 lorries running Only 123 are British made; the rest are American. It is certified by many competent observers that in five years time the saturation point will have been reached in the American market, and they will make an even greater drive to secure fresh markets. Our manufacturers would be welt advised to send out men to study tropical requirements for the lorries that are wanted out there. Great credit is due to Messrs. Dunlop and Company. who have sent out a representative to see the kind of tyres that will stand the roads I would just like to refer to one more point. There is urgent need for scientific research, and the Government would do well to give every possible assistance to encouraging it. The work which is being performed by such a college as that at Trinidad will be repaid a thousand times. The Government of Nigeria and Sierra Leone have many experimental farms, and competent scientists are at work, but there are not nearly enough of them. The more scientific research can be carried out the greater will be the increase in production and the greater the return from these Colonies.