TNAG-0476-FCO40-541-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 142

999

Defence

[MR. DALYELL.]

13 MAY 1974

Kong with all its problems. Having said that, I hope that defence money will be saved in Hong Kong.

The third issue which I should like to see raised is the subject of Ireland. It concerns the supply of money which is undoubtedly coming from the United States, and almost certainly from Canada, to both sides in Ireland. This was a subject raised in Boston and in New York by Dr. Fitzgerald. My request is that the Government should pursue this matter with the Canadian authorities.

With the right hon. Member for Wan- stead and Woodford (Mr. Jenkin) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-East (Mr. Palmer), I went on a delegation from this House to Canada to look at nuclear reactors. It can be well said that the people who have to deal with the Ontario hydro and sophisticated nuclear power engineering are not likely to provide funds for Ireland, but there was some serious discussion in Ontario to the effect that substantial funds were being advanced for the purchase of arms for Ireland. I therefore ask my right hon. Friend to contact in the friendliest spirit the Governments of Canada and the United States to ask them whether the sources of this money can be frus trated in some way.

I

I say a final word to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Carson). listened very carefully to his maiden speech. He will forgive me for saying that that kind of speech, going back to what Carson did and did not do, tends to confirm the prejudices which increas- ing numbers of Government supporters have that the historic problems of his country will be solved by the Irish and by no one else.

9.10 p.m.

Defence

1000

in this House for a while are especially grateful for the hon. Gentleman's warm tribute to his predecessor, Stratton Mills, a man who not only was very popular in this House but who was also a man of courage who never shrank from saying what he thought and standing out on a limb when he considered it necessary. We hope to hear the hon. Member for Belfast, North frequently in the future in these debates, and we welcome him warmly.

Then I must congratulate the Secretary of State on his speech-perhaps I should say on his two speeches. The first filled me with a little alarm, as clearly it did the right hon. Gentleman. The second one I warmed to, and on both sides of the House we appreciated that the right hon. Gentleman was giving us a firm and strong lead from the defence point of view which I am sure we all welcomed. At times the right hon. Gentleman appeared to be walking a tight rope. Whether he feels that he is correctly built for that activity, I do not know. But we all know now that he is very successful at it, and we are grateful to him for what he said.

We have also to thank the right hon. Gentleman sincerely for his announce- ments about improvements in the con- ditions of those of our troops serving in Northern Ireland. I welcome what he announced, and we shall look with interest at the full details of it when

we can.

We are grateful to the right hon. Gentleman and his officials for their imagination in dealing with a number of different personal problems which our soldiers have clearly experienced in the past year or two in their service in Ulster. Most Service men will find that the removal of a lot of, in themselves, irrita- ting small disadvantages, when put together makes a major difference to what has been a difficult period of service. We thank the Secretary of State for these improvements, and we hope that he will continue his search for more. We know that it is his aim to make life better our troops serving in Northern

Ireland.

Mr. George Younger (Ayr): It is my first pleasant task in winding up this debate on behalf of the Opposition to extend the warm congratulations of, I hope, the whole House to the hon. Mem- ber for Belfast, North (Mr. Carson). A

A for maiden speech is never easy to make, and it must have been even more difficult in his case since quite clearly he had some very important comments to make from his own experience of the distressing events in the past few years in his con- stituency. Those of us who have been

8 E 22

I reiterate one suggestion made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mr. Gilmour), to which I hope the Government will give mature consideration. There has been some concern about the speed of

-