Page:MALAYSIA BILL RHODESIA AND NYASALAND BILL (1) (Hansard, 11 Juli 1963).djvu/6

 Governments concerned.

Clause 1(1) is a general provision enabling Her Majesty, by Order, to provide for the dissolution of the Federation and the distribution of Federal functions to the territories. It also enables the making of "…such incidental, supplemental and consequential provisions as appear necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Order." In Clause 1(2) the meaning of the terms"incidental, supplemental and consequential" is illustrated. The subsection sets out a number of matters for which such provisions may be made and I should like to mention them in turn.

Clause 1(2,a) covers the making of provisions by Order in Council with regard to Federal assets and liabilities, including the public debt. I referred to that in my opening remarks about the White Paper. I need only stress here that a great deal of hard and complicated work will have to be done and the conference agreed that a special sub-committee would have to tackle this in the light of our discussions and make recommendations on how to deal with it.

To those who study the question in detail, I would say that the question of an apportionment commission for apportioning the debt has been left open for the post-conference machinery to recommend appropriate terms of reference if it considers that such a commission is required.

Clause 1(2,b) enables provision to be made as necessary for members of the public services of the Federation. I have fully described their needs in my opening remarks. I should only like to add that, as the Report of the conference makes clear, members of the Armed Forces and the judiciary as well as parliamentary officers, whose plight we heard about at the conference—for example, the officers of the Federal Assembly whom we have to consider because after 31st December their Assembly will come to an end—and employees of statutory bodies will be included in this consideration.

Clause 1(2,c) is self-explanatory. It deals with matters pending before the Federal courts and tribunals at the time of the dissolution. Clause 1(2,d) arises because until a Federal function has been transferred to a territorial Government that Government has no authority to legislate in that field. If no arrangements were made to deal with this situation a territorial Government could find itself responsible, for example, for health and prisons but lacking in legislation under which to operate those services.

That provision is, therefore, included in the Bill. Clause 1(2,d) enables provision to be made by Order in Council for the continuance, under certain circumstances, of Federal law, and the following words are included: "subject…to the powers of the authority having power to legislate for the Territory after dissolution…"." The territories attach importance to those words. In other words, it will be open 1438 to a territorial Government to pass their own legislation as soon as they wish, or are in a position to do so. Paragraph (d) also makes it possible for the Order to empower a territorial Government to modify or adapt Federal legislation for their own use following dissolution.

Paragraph (e) enables provision to be made for the modification or adaptation of any Act of Parliament or instrument having effect there under. To make quite clear the limited purpose of this provision, it is expressly provided that "this section shall not authorise the amendment of the constitution of any of the Territories." This assurance was especially sought by the Government of Southern Rhodesia.

The House will observe that Clause 1(2) concludes, in lines 25 to 31 on page 2 of the Bill, with certain provisions concerned with institutions or bodies which may be constituted jointly for all or any two of the territories. This refers to what I have been speaking of—inter-governmental collaboration. This part of the Bill envisages a situation in which all or any two of the territories might agree to set up a joint body or institution to operate, for example, a particular common service on their behalf, it might be in the realm of power. It might be thought expedient that provision should be made by Order for the exercise by such a body or institution of those functions which the territory had agreed.