– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 14 July 1947.
Mr Thomas Reid
, Swindon
12:00,
14 July 1947
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, if the Far Eastern Commission sanctioned the scheme allowing the Japanese to develop a phosphate industry at Angaur Island in the Palau Group, near New Guinea; and if the Australian or British Government representatives objected to this scheme.
The Minister of State (Mr. McNeil):
The subject has not been discussed in the Far Eastern Commission. The second part of the Question does not, therefore, arise.
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.
