Oral Answers to Questions — Tanganyika – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 17 Rhagfyr 1947.
Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker
, Banbury
12:00,
17 Rhagfyr 1947
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to resettle the Poles at present in Tanganyika Territory in more suitable surroundings.
Mr. Creech Jones:
The Majority of these Poles are the dependants of members of the Polish Forces in this country, and will be brought here to join their relatives as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made. A few have already left. The question of the resettlement of the remainder is in the hands of the Preparatory Commission of the International Refuge Organisation.
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 term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
