Colonial Policy

Abstract

A SOMEWHAT inconclusive debate on Colonial affairs took place in the House of Lords on February 9. The matter was raised by Lord Trenchard, who asked whether the Government could make any statement on methods of staffing and administering the Colonial Empire. Lord Trenchard referred to his previous inquiry on the subject last May, when he brought forward five matters for discussion : recruitment of the Colonial Civil Service, organization of a single interchangeable and independent Service, a Colonial Staff College, creation of a Colonial Advisory Board, and the possibility of grouping the Colonies into larger units. In the interval, other debates on the general subject have taken place, and in one of them Lord Listowel remarked that we now have an opportunity for atoning for past neglect of the Colonies. Lord Trenchard emphatically repudiated the suggestion that there has been neglect, showing that the British Colonial administration has brought peace and prosperity in its train ; and he denied the suggestion that Great Britain has enriched herself at the expense of the Colonies. This point, it may be noted, was also made by Mr. R. G. Casey, now Minister of State in the Middle East, and a former member of the Australian Government, in a broadcast address delivered on February 14. Lord Listowel followed Lord Trenchard and discussed particularly the staffing and recruitment of the administrative services. He pointed out that high academic achievement is insufficient, and should be supplemented by special courses take'n after having practical experience in the Colonies. Lord Elibank referred particularly to the difficulty of grouping Colonies. The importance of introducing local inhabitants into the administrative system was widely emphasized.