Oral Answers to Questions — African Colonies – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 March 1947.
Squadron Leader Samuel Segal
, Preston
12:00,
12 March 1947
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what assistance he proposes to give to provide an adequate news service for the nationalist Press of Nigeria.
Mr. Creech Jones:
I appreciate the importance of an adequate news service being made available to the public in Nigeria, and the matter has received my attention. But it has not been the practice hitherto to make any official arrangements for the provision of news services for privately owned newspapers, on the assumption that independent agencies exist for the purpose. The situation, however, remains unsatisfactory. I should add that Nigerian newspapers already receive items of official news from the Public Relations Officer there. In addition, the London Press Service, an official service originated in London, providing commentary and background on the news, is received by the Nigerian Government and is available to newspapers. The question will continue to engage my attention.
Squadron Leader Samuel Segal
, Preston
Will the Minister bear in mind that if these papers are not provided with an adequate news service, they are left with no other alternative but to fill their columns with propaganda?
Sir Edward Keeling
, Twickenham
Does the Secretary of State think that even if he takes the water to the horse he can succeed in making him drink?
Mr Cyril Dumpleton
, St Albans
Is it not a fact that regular Press conferences were arranged for the editors of these newspapers and they failed to turn up?
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.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
