PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
سائل
Reference :-
C.O.885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO|
21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
Model
clause to secure British control.
Impossi- bility of laying down general
6
rubber and other forest products. In Uganda, on the other hand, there are large tracts of forest land to which no natives lay claim, and over which the Government have acquired rights. The granting of exclusive privileges over certain areas in Uganda was therefore in no way contrary to native interests, and did not offend native susceptibilities. It also appeared to the Government to be the best way to preserve, as well as to exploit, the forest products. A similar policy would have been unwise, as well as unnecessary, in Southern Nigeria, where the conditions of native life and custom are, as pointed out above, widely different."
20. The Committee have also from time to time discussed the question of drawing up model clauses for insertion in concessions. So far the only model clause dealt with by the Committee has been that providing for British control of certain enterprises. At the request of the Colonial Office, a clause of this nature was prepared by the solicitors to the Crown Agents and has since been adopted in the few cases in which it has been required. In the course of the discussion on this clause it became clear that the number of cases to which such a clause would be applicable was very limited, as foreign countries might possibly retaliate if the exploitation of the resources of British Colonies and Protectorates were formally and in all cases limited to British capital, and it would be awkward if, e.g., the Argentine Government adopted the same atti- tude in regard to railroad construction in that country. Also in some instances the limitation would be somewhat absurd,
C.g.. in the Malay States, seeing that the territory is not British. The Committee therefore agreed that the clause was not necessary in ordinary concessions. The Secretary of State has sanctioned the adoption of the model clause in cases in which such a clause has been deemed necessary. These cases are however very few, and it would be misleading to include such a clause in any set of rules laid down for the guidance of Colonial Govern-
ments.
21. The experience of the Committee in the above mentioned instances confirms the view that the local conditions of the Crown Colonies and Protectorates differ so widely, even in the case of those in which an approxi- principles. mate degree of similarity might be expected, that it is difficult to stretch the application of any principle beyond the given circumstances of a particular concession; and, in view of the fact that efforts to formulate rules of policy on specific points have either failed or not met with accept- ance in the past, the Committee see no reason to suppose that an attempt to draw up a useful code of rules would be attended with any greater measure of success. In addition, it may be noted that applications are received from time to time for concessions of a nature which it is impossible to foresee and which would not be covered by any set of principles, however comprehensive such, for instance, as Messrs. Lever's application for small sites in Sierra Leone, Southern Nigeria, and the Gold Coast on which to establish depericarping machinery, on condition
Relaxation of control
by Colonial
Office.
that no similar machinery should be set up within a certain radius, and that they should have the exclusive right, except as against the Government, of laying down tram lines within the areas so defined.
22. Assuming, therefore, that it is impracticable to draw up a useful memorandum of general principles for the
7
guidance of Governors, it still remains to be considered whether, in spite of this fact, the local Governments should be left to deal with all concessions without exception or whether the present system should continue.
23. As regards the existing practice it should first be Present explained that, at present, applications are disposed of in "ystem of
dealing two ways-(a) by the local Government; and (b) by with con- the Colonial Office in consultation with the Governor. cessions.
As a matter of fact the majority of applications are dis- posed of locally; and, of those which come before the Colonial Office at some stage only such as present special features are referred by the Departments to the Committee.
24. Here again a broad distinction can be drawn between Case of the circumstances of the West Indian and Eastern Colonies the West and Protectorates and those in West and East Africa. Indian and
Eastern Generally speaking, the West Indies do not offer an attrac- Colonies tive field to the company promoter. Development is mainly and Pro- carried on by investments of local capital in bona fide tectorates. industries, many of which have been established for cen- turies, e.g., sugar-planting generally, mahogany-cutting in British Honduras, &c., &c. In these circumstances the local Government has the requisite knowledge and experience at its command, and, being in close touch with the persons interested, is in a better position than the Colonial Office to deal with such matters. The case of the Eastern Colonies and Protectorates is similar. Industries such as tin mining in the Malay Peninsula and tea planting in Ceylon are old established; and, until the development of rubber planting led to the formation of a great number of companies in Europe, the majority of commercial undertakings-especially in the Malay Peninsula-were controlled locally. Further, the Governments in Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula can undertake matters, e.g., the supervision of forests and the construction of railways, which other Governments less fortunately situated finan- cially are unable to cope with satisfactorily in present
circumstances.
East
25. Where, on the other hand, as in West and East Case of the Africa, new industries are being introduced with outside West and capital matters stand on a different footing. Pioneer work African on a large scale entails the expenditure of considerable Colonies capital, which is, in most instances, supplied by share- and Pro- holding companies having their headquarters in this tectorates. country. In such cases the Colonial Office is obviously
in a better position than the Governor to enquire into the bona fides of competing promoters. The persons with whom the Government can deal locally are usually agents and not principals: and even in cases in which the nego. tiations are commenced locally, the tendency is for the Colonial Office to be drawn into the discussion at some stage or other of the proceedings, since, when differences arise, either the Governor asks the Secretary of State to settle matters with the principals, or else the latter appeal to the Colonial Office against the local Government. In the latter event it is not practicable to tell the principals that, having commenced negotiations locally, they must continue to deal with the local Government. Also in some cases the principals are not prepared to give the local agent the discretion necessary to enable an agreement to be completed locally, e.g., the Pacific l'hosphate Company, Limited, in a letter dated the 10th May, 1911, stated that "the Company's officers in Ocean Island will be granted