27

A.—6

Telegraphic Communication with West Indies. Telegraphic communication between and with the Wesst Indies has given rise to dissatisfaction for some time past, both in those colonies and, I believe, in Canada. The question was discussed at tires Conferences held at Ottawa in 1920, but at that time the existing contract with the West India and Panama Telegraph Company had still some years to run and no immediate solution of the problem was possible. We have recently put before the Canadian Government and the West Indian Governments concerned a scheme for an all-British cable from Turks Islands to Barbados, with subsidiary connections by cable and wireless telegraphy to the other colonies. This scheme, which is based on the continued co-operation of the Government of the Dominion and of the Colonial Governments with His Majesty's Government, has now been accepted in principle by all the contributory Governments, and I hope that it will be carried out during the coming year. This scheme will afford an opportunity for an even wider measure of inter-Imperial co-operation than the, existing arrangement for joint contributions to the West India and Panama Cable Company's subsidy. The proposed cable is to be laid and maintained by, or on bahalf of, all the Governments concerned, and as it is impossible for them to undertake directly an enterprise of this natures, we propose, if the Dominion Governments represented on the Board see no objection, to ask the Pacific Cable, Board to undertake the management of the cables and wireless stations which will be, maintained under the scheme. We do not, of course, suggest that the Board should undertake any financial responsibility in the matter. All we ask is that they will extend to this now all-British, route the skilled management and control which has been so successful in maintaining the all-British route across the Pacific. If our proposals are accepted, as I sincerely trust they will be, this new development of the activities of the Pacific Cable Board will form an interesting example of a Board constituted for one inter-Imperial purpose being subsequently employed for another kindred inter-Imperial purpose, and will show in practice how co-operation between British Ac I ministrations once started in any sphere tends inevitably to grow. We could ask for no happier augury of the outcome of the first Economic Conference. Agricultural College. Another Imperial development which emanates from the Wesst Indies is thes recent changes in the scope and title of what was formerly known as the West Indian Agricultural College. At a meeting held at the Colonial Office this summer under my chairmanship it was unanimously agreed that the scope of the college should be Empire-wide, but it was felt that the prospect of obtaining the necessary funds woulel be; gravely impaired if the college retained a title suggesting that it was merely a local institution. It was therefore recommended that the titles should be changed to the " Imperial College erf Tropical Agriculture," and our airrr is that it should provide for the needs of all tropical dependencies by becoming the chief centre of agricultural research and staff training. British Guiana. British Guiana in particular presents a special problem, Our only colony on thes mainland of South America is rich in mineral and forest resources. In area it is as large as Groat Britain, but it has a population of only three hundred thousand. It is to be hoped that immigration, without which the colony cannot be developed, may be resumed. West and East Africa. I now turn to Africa. The British West and East African colonies berth in area and population provide our greatest opportunity and the widest scope for sustained development. In those larges tropica] territories the; improvement of communications and the advancement of education are the foundation of moral and material progress, New railway-construction is now steadily proceeding in Nigeria, Gold Coast, and Kenya, while important harbour-works are being carried out at Takoradi in West Africa (Gold Coast), and at Kilindini in East Africa (Kenya). It is also hoped that the last link in the connection by railway of Lake Nyasa with the coast at Beira will soon be undertaken. Kenya and Uganda. In Kenya political questions have recently overshadowed all others. It has been no easy task to provide an equitable adjustment of the several interests concerned in the political future of the colony, but, after very careful consideration, the British Government has taken certain decisions, which have been made public, and which I need not here repeat. I sincerely trust that the settlement which we have made will enable all its inhabitants to devote their utmost energy to the development of the great resources of the territory in which they live. In thes administration of Kenya, as in other African colonies anel protectorates, we regard ourselves as exercising a trust on behalf of the African population. Whatever measures we take must be considered in their relation to that paramount duty. We propose to continue the general policy of moral, economic, and intellectual development erf the African. Within the limits of their finances the East African Governments will continue, sides by side with the great work of the missions, to do all that is possible for the advancement of the Natives. Considerable progress has already been made, arid the Uganda Railway Administration is now paying special attention to the training of Natives for mechanical work on the railways. It is confidently anticipated that in time: mechanical work of this kind, and the ordinary clerical work of Government, will be carried out by Africans. Tanganyika Territory. In East Africa wes administer, under a mandate issued by the League of Nations last year, a territory larger than any colony, that of Tanganyika. The country's prosperity depends mainly upon