Mr John Biggs-Davison: The House will realise that I am in no fit condition to follow the hon. Member for Acton (Mr. Sparks) into the intricacies of road or rail transport, a subject about which I am almost entirely ignorant. The House will appreciate the state of mind in which I address them for the first time. I feel rather like that member of another place who dreamt that he was making a speech there and woke...
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Despite what was said earlier this afternoon from the other side, it would seem that hon. Members opposite can scarcely wait to begin their holidays. I will therefore be extremely brief and resist the temptation to follow the interesting and imaginative observations of the hon. Member for Coventry, East (Mr. Crossman). I want merely to address myself to that part of the directive given by my...
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what arrangements have been made with the Governments of India and Pakistan for the upkeep of British graves in those countries which are not cared for by the Imperial War Graves Commission.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Whilst thanking my hon. Friend for that reply, and for the efforts which have been made by his Department, with the generous co-operation of the two other Commonwealth Governments, may I express the hope that all concerned will keep a keen interest in this matter so that as many graves as possible can be kept in decency and honour?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Prime Minister to make a statement about the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: The integrity and high reputation of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer remain unimpaired despite the petty, personal and sometimes sanctimonious attacks which have been made upon him from the benches opposite. I believe that the country will respond well to the measures which my right hon. Friend has proposed, always provided that people are convinced that these measures...
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Minister of Health whether he has yet advised hospital authorities to substitute earphones for wireless loudspeakers in public wards.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Might I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply and express the hope that he will continue to do all he can to ensure that patients who are sent to hospital to get better are not made worse by avoidable noise?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Can my right hon. Friend tell the House something about the present position of the Christian Missions in Southern Sudan?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Minister of Defence what stage has now been reached in the evacuation of British forces from the Suez Canal base.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Can my right hon. and learned Friend assure the House that proper plans and arrangements have been made for the possible re-entry of British Forces into the base in conditions mentioned in the Suez Agreement?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: One of the hardest decisions which can confront an imperial Power like ours is when to give way and when to stand firm. Unlike the hon. Member for Reading (Mr. Mikardo), I have no personal experience of recent conditions in the Island of Cyprus. but I was the eye-witness of the transfer of British imperial power in the Indian sub-continent. I supported then, and I support today, as the right...
Mr John Biggs-Davison: We certainly have, and I maintain that we must hold on to that base in Cyprus which is now being developed. I am a little doubtful when I hear hon. Members saying that some kind of solution can be found in relation to N.A.T.O., for N.A.T.O. is an alliance called forth to meet a particular threat. We have to consider the enduring and abiding interests of Britain and the Commonwealth. I...
Mr John Biggs-Davison: I said that I believed that we should support the development of self-government in Cyprus.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what reports he has received about the state of public security in the Aden Protectorate at the present time.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: While thanking my' right hon. Friend for that satisfactory reply, may I ask whether he can say that the Yemen is now playing the part of a good neighbour?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further consultations he has had with the other parties to the Tripartite Declaration of May, 1950, concerning the supply of arms to Egypt and other countries in the Middle East by Soviet satellite countries.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: Can my right hon. Friend say whether arms in any appreciable quantity have already reached any of the States in question from the Soviet bloc?
Mr John Biggs-Davison: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how much listening time in British Broadcasting Corporation overseas broadcasts to Communist and to other foreign countries is devoted to information about the nature, aims and achievements of the Commonwealth.
Mr John Biggs-Davison: In view of the propaganda of other countries, is my hon. Friend satisfied that everything possible is being done through these broadcasts to make as widely known as possible throughout the world the merits of the Commonwealth system of association, which combines national independence with international co-operation?