Page:MALAYSIA BILL RHODESIA AND NYASALAND BILL (1) (Hansard, 11 Juli 1963).djvu/15

 How are we to look after the public servants of the Federation? What are their future? What security will these public servants have if they transfer? My right hon. Friend the First Secretary spoke about recent experiences or incidents in Nyasaland. When referring to this, the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, East talked about the Nyasaland incidents against Europeans. That is not what worries me most. I am worried rather by the incidents against, not only Europeans, but against Asiansand Africans in Nyasaland.

Mr. Bottomley I mentioned Europeans because of the recent incident.

Mr. Turton That, of course, was against Asians, too.

Four months ago, I was in the Rhodesias. At that time the only African woman doctor at Lilongwe Hospital, Dr. Mungwina, a Nyasaland lady who is devoted to her country, had to be removed out of that country because the Nyasaland Government were making it impossible for her to continue. On 14th June, the provincial health inspector of Lilongwe Hospital was trying to protect his patients from hooligans who were uprooting traffic signs on the days when Dr. Banda was visiting the hospital, and he has had to be removed for safety outside Nyasaland. The last matron of Lilongwe Hospital was assaulted and had to be taken for safety out of the country. The present matron has been followed and intimidated.

Is it any wonder that the medical superintendent of the hospital now says that on the break-up of Federation he wishes to leave?

That is the problem which faces these federal public servants. In these circumstances, they must have the free right to choose whether to stay or to leave. That right was granted on the detachment of Nyasaland from the Federation. It is only right and fair that in the interests of these people, that right should be allowed as a first principle throughout the federal public service as a whole. This House would not be acting properly if we denied them that right.

Whether the public servants stay or leave, another matter to which this House owes a great obligation is their pension rights. My right hon. Friend the First Secretary said that we would be judged by how we dealt with the question of the public servants. He had chosen his words admirably. What worries me is that there is no Financial Resolution to the Bill. We in this Parliament are responsible for the break-up of the Federation and it would be right for us to provide the compensation for those federal public servants who are declared redundant or are unwilling to transfer. I believe that this Government and this country have a financial and moral obligation to do that. We have brought them into this dilemma. Therefore, we, the British taxpayers, should put our hands into our pockets to help them out of the dilemma.

There is another factor in this. Let us remember that when these three countries break up, whatever may be their future policies—I will say a word about that later—they are not going to have a great deal of resources. In fact the pension funds, which are mostly invested in Federal securities, will be at their lowest marketable value at the time of the break up of the Federation. Therefore, on this point I do beg the Government—I am not thinking only of the First Secretary but also of the Chancellor of the Exchequer—to approach this subject with very great generosity, because these men really deserve well of us.

Now let us look for a moment or two at the future of these two countries. They are, and always will be, interdependent. Every ton of copper exported from Northern Rhodesia, every ton of equipment going up to Northern Rhodesia, or nearly every ton of equipment, has to go by rail through Southern Rhodesia. The power to work the mines in Northern Rhodesia must come either from the coal of Wankie or the electricity of Kariba. Economically, these two countries are completely joined together. Equally, Nyasaland will never solve its population nor its employment problem unless it can find outlets for the employment of its labour in Northern and Southern Rhodesia. On the other hand, Southern Rhodesia will have far too small a market for its present manufacturing industry if it has to cut off its supplies of goods to Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.