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Queen's Speech [MR. SILLARS.] responsibility. The Labour Government and the Labour Party cannot evade that issue. Conditions in Hong Kong are our responsibility and no one else's. In the final analysis we are the Government of Hong Kong. There is no point in the Labour movement working itself up into a fury about conditions in South Africa, South-West Africa, or any country in Latin America, while we have the un- acceptable face of colonialism within the British context, depicted by the internal situation in the colony of Hong Kong.
So far I have concentrated my remarks on the economic and social factors in respect of Hong Kong. There is, how- ever, the overriding political question, too. By that I mean the question whether Hong Kong has any future as a separate entity from mainland China. When we look at the heart of the matter we see that Hong Kong as a British colony will cease to exist whenever China believes that the time is ripe to end what she terms the unequal treaties, starting with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.
We can actually fix a date when Hong Kong will cease to be viable as an entity and when this House will be required to face the facts of life out there. In 1997, only 23 years from now, the New Territories revert to Chinese sovereignty. As the New Territories make up nine-tenths of the total area of the colony it can easily be appreciated how unrealistic it would be to imagine that the remainder--Kowloon, Stonecutters Island and Hong Kong Island---will con- tinue to function under a colonial régime. Our position in 1997 will be untenable. It may be that China will not give us until 1997, and that British politicians will be made to face the prob. lem much sooner than expected. That would be in line with the history of this House's dealing with colonial possessions.
It would be wise, therefore, to start thinking seriously about the Hong Kong problem now, and to start preparing people in the colony for the change which is inevitable. While the mind boggles at the long-term problem-1 believe that that mind of the Foreign Office boggles more than most-we must exercise our responsibility to ensure that while capital makes its pile by exploiting workers in Hong Kong we act decisively, as a Labour Government, in the interests of the workers.
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Debate on the Address
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I turn from Hong Kong---thousands of miles away-to the position inside the United Kingdom, in Scotland. I welcome the part of the Queen's Speech which refers to the urgent preparations to give effect to our commitment to create a Scottish Parliament. I particularly wel- come the appointment of my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth (Mr. Ewing). I expect to be welcomed as a prophet in that fine burgh of Falkirk when I return there. because on the Sunday before the elec- tion I prophesied that ere we met in the Houses of Parliament my hon. Friend would be a Minister in the Labour Government. I know that he is as deeply committed to the question of devolution as any person in Scotland, and will do his utmost to speed up the necessary legislation.
I suggest to my hon. Friend and the rest of the Government that this is an urgent matter and that we should start legislation this Session. 1 know the diffi- culties involved in trying to find the area of responsibility between Westminster and Edinburgh on trade, industry and employ- ment. I therefore put this suggested time table to him for his consideration. First, we should have a major Bill this Session, which would become an Act about the end of July or September next year. That Bill should state the number of Members of a Scottish Parliament. It could state the date of the election---perhaps June of 1976; it could provide us with the Boundary Commission to draw up the necessary constituencies; it could state the date of operation, which might be September 1976.
The Bill would transfer the functions of the Scottish Office to the Scottish Par- liament. It could transfer the Lord Advo- · cate's functions from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament and it could make a start in tackling certain aspects of econo- Industry Act grants and air transport. It mic powers, such as ports, shipping, the could make provision for the ultimate
transfer of the Scottish Development Agency from the Secretary of State to the Scottish Parliament, and could also easily set out the system of finance and the relationship between this House and the House in Edinburgh with regard to the financing of the Budget.
All this could be achieved by this time next year.
That would be a massive
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