– in the House of Commons at on 8 March 1939.
Major Abraham Lyons
, Leicester East
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement on the position of the recent strike in Trinidad and Jamaica; whether Mr. Uriah Butler is still in custody and for what sentence; for what offence he is being detained; and whether, in view of the representations made in the matter, any decision has been reached as to his release?
With regard to the recent strikes in Jamaica I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Consett (Mr. David Adams) and other hon. Members on 22nd February. In Trinidad 450 employés of the Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company stopped work on 22nd February demanding wage increases. The stoppage was not authorised by the two unions to which the workers belong, and they immediately urged the men to return to work. They had all returned to work by 27th February, pending negotiations. There was also a short strike of about 80 unorganised sugar workers on one of the estates of the Sainte Madeleine Sugar Company. There was some friction here between a few of the strikers and the management on 27th February, but prompt intervention by the police prevented the development of trouble. All the strikers resumed work on 2nd March in a peaceful atmosphere which still continues.
As regards the latter part of the question, Mr. Uriah Butler is in custody serving a sentence of two years' imprisonment with hard labour following a conviction by the Supreme Court of Trinidad for sedition. He appealed to the Trinidad Court of Criminal Appeal, but his appeal was dismissed; and he has now been given leave to appeal to the Privy Council on the ground that the Trinidad Appeal Court was not legally constituted. This case must therefore be regarded as sub judice.
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.
An intervention is when the MP making a speech is interrupted by another MP and asked to 'give way' to allow the other MP to intervene on the speech to ask a question or comment on what has just been said.
The Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state.
As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which The Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted. Its day to day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty's Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, that is all Cabinet Ministers and a number of junior Ministers. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called "Right Honourable".
The Privy Council still meets regularly, on average once a month, but, as with the Cabinet, most of its business is transacted in discussion and correspondence between its Ministerial members and the Government Departments that advise them. The Privy Council Office (which is itself a Government Department) provides a secretariat for these discussions, as the Cabinet Office does in relation to the business of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.
Meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all "secret" about Privy Council meetings. The myth that the Privy Council is a secretive body springs from the wording of the Privy Counsellor's Oath , which, in its current form, dates back to Tudor times. It requires those taking it to "keep secret all matters...treated of in Council". The Oath (or solemn affirmation for those who cannot take an Oath) is still administered, and is still binding; but it is only in very special circumstances nowadays that matters will come to a Privy Counsellor on "Privy Council terms". These will mostly concern matters of the national interest where it is important for senior members of Opposition parties to have access to Government information.
