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[LORD WADE.]
British Nationality
[ LORDS ]
that has been so well debated. In my opinion there are two aspects to this: One is psychological and the other is legal. There are few subjects more complex than constitutional law. I think it might be expedient from a legal point of view if this amendment did not exist and we had not to debate it; but I think this subject today is primarily one of the psychological approach to this problem. That is partly due to the very nature and structure of the Bill that is before us; but there it is, it is before us.
We should keep in mind the undertakings that have been given over the years, and I think everyone in this Committee is in sympathy with the undertakings that have been given to the people of Gibraltar. I think they are clear, and as a consequence I think this is a special case. I do not think we can get away from the fact that it is a special case. Gibraltar is geographically a link, a part of Europe. Its community regards itself as British, and is linked with us in that respect, just as the people living in the Shetlands regard themselves as British. Therefore, putting aside all the legal and technical arguments that may be forthcoming about this amendment, I believe that it would be psycholo- gically unwise to reject it and I would be very happy if the Government could see their way to accepting it.
4.35 p.m.
Viscount Eccles: We have seen from this debate how strong is the sympathy for the people of Gibraltar. I share that myself. Sir Winston Churchill, in the second volume of his History of the War, wrote:
"Spain is the key to all British enterprise in the Mediterranean ". By that he meant that if the Straits of Gibraltar were closed the war would be harder and longer. Then we have that famous letter of 30th December 1940 from Hitler to Mussolini, in which Hitler tells his partner that General Franco has let them down and will not invite the German troops to cross the Pyrenees and capture Gibraltar, and in which he says they had made all preparations to start that assault in the early days of February 1941.
I was there at the time, and frequently stayed in Gibraltar with the Governor, Lord Gort. I can feel exactly what the Rock meant to us then; and if it was a fact that we were considering only Gibraltar, then, as my noble Leader said, we should probably accept this amendment. But we are not. We are bound to look at Schedule 6, at the other dependent territories; and we must, if we can, make out a reason why Gibraltar should be exceptional in that list. We should have to give British citizenship to the Falkland Islands ---only a handful of them, bravely resisting the pressures from the Argentine. If to the Falkland Islands, then obviously to Gibraltar; and if to Gibraltar, why not to the others?
But
But, of course, the one that really matters is Hong Kong. As the noble and learned Lord has just told us, he has an amendment under which the only thing that really matters is: Would he introduce a special citizenship. British Hong Kong citizenship? then he would have to attach to it conditions about, immigration which are not attached to Gibraltar, because we are not really considering only nationality. Though this is the purpose of the Bill-to give us al
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good framework of nationality - alongside it is our policy on immigration.
"
We
That brings us up against our situation here. have enormous unemployment--technological un- employment, which is not going to go away. We have the problem of the racial minorities that we have not yet properly integrated into British society, but which we intend to do. These are the first problems that we have to consider. If we are going to accept this amendment, it would be impossible, as I think my noble friend Lord Soames said, not to do the same for Hong Why Kong. The reason is an immigration reason. do some noble Lords say, But Hong Kong is quite different ", though it is a dependent territory and Is it might be taken over by China under the law? because it is so far away-out of sight, out of mind? It takes less than 24 hours to come from Hong Kong to London in an aeroplane. Is it because so many of the citizens of Hong Kong are refugees from Communist China and have yellow faces? If that is the reason it is a very bad reason. How are we going to explain it if we accept this amendment and do not then extend it to the other dependent territories?
Our first duty in the circumstances in which we are -overcrowded, with enormous unemployment and difficult racial problems, and not nearly as efficient as we should be-is to get our own situation right in order that we may help other people in the third world. We cannot get our own situation right, we cannot be a peaceful, harmonious and strong country, unless we have a sound nationality and immigration policy as a framework within which to achieve that end. My heart is on the side of the mover of the amendment, but commonsense and reason tells me to support the Government in the Lobby.
4.40 p.m.
a
Lord Mishcon: Sometimes I am sure the Committee will feel that one is confronted with a problem which can be solved emotionally. The Committee on matter of this kind would say, "If emotion alone rules us, we may come to a wrong decision ". But if logic and justice happen to be on the side of emotion, the Committee is making a very good decision having regard to those three entities in making up its mind. The noble Viscount, Lord Eccles, opened his speech by saying that he had sympathy with the people of Gibraltar. The people of Gibraltar do not need our sympathy, and they did not sympathise with us in the days when they stood with us and in the days too when, not long ago--and I do not want to over- emotionalise, but these are facts-the barriers were put up and when the borders were closed. Then the people of Gibraltar looked to what they regarded as literally their mother country, and quite openly unfurled Union Jacks and quite openly sang the National Anthem. In this day and age one can laugh at that kind of reaction, one can call it jingoism; one can call it many things; but one has to admit that that showed that the people of Gibraltar regarded themselves as being in the family.
My noble and learned friend Lord Elwyn-Jones talked very wisely in terms of the dependent territories' nationality so-called in this Bill, and he referred to the wisdom of at least giving them some individuality. If one is talking in terms of a family, I wonder how many of us would like our children to refer to them-
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