CAB129-36 — Page 254

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(b) In 1934 the Cabinet considered possible measures to reduce the influx from Ireland of persons who were seeking the better social services in the United Kingdom, but no action was taken.

(c) Both before and since the war the police have represented that certain Cypriots and Maltese who make a practice of living on the immoral earnings of women should be deported. Representations have also been made in favour of restricting the admission of, and returning to their country of origin, coloured persons from British colonies who come to this country as seamen, stowaways or ordinary immigrants and congregate in certain areas such as East London, Liverpool and Cardiff, where they live in squalid conditions. agreement with the Colonial Office, however, the view has always been taken that it would be impossible to deport such persons.

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7. It might be argued that to take power to deport British subjects from the United Kingdom would not be inconsistent with the new conception of Commonwealth citizenship under which a person is first a citizen of an individual Commonwealth country or of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and by virtue of this achieves the status of British subject. And, on the face of it, we may seem to be handicapped in not being able to deport from the United Kingdom a citizen of some other Commonwealth country for stirring up trouble here, when all independent Commonwealth countries and some Colonies have the power to deport United Kingdom citizens. My own view, however, is that at the present critical stage in the development of the Commonwealth it would be a serious mistake to depart from our traditional policy of giving all British subjects the right to enter the United Kingdom and to enjoy the same rights and privileges as are given to United Kingdom nationals. It is important that the status of being a British subject should have a real meaning, and freedom to enter and remain in the United Kingdom is one of the main practical benefits that British subjects enjoy. We have not in fact such good grounds as most of the other Commonwealth countries for taking power to deport, since we

since we are not a country of immigration, and whatever changes may have taken place in citizenship law, the United Kingdom is still regarded as the home land by people in all parts of the Commonwealth, and I am convinced that anything we might gain by taking power to deport British subjects would be immeasurably less than the damage which would be done by a departure from the principle that all British subjects should receive equal treatment in the United Kingdom. I think that the reception given to the reply which I gave to the Supplementary Questions on 21st July shows that the majority of Members of all Parties would on reflection share my view.

8. Apart from the general objections to the taking of power to deport British subjects, I would draw the Cabinet's attention to two serious difficulties which would arise if we were to propose legislation in the sense suggested:-

(a) The Commonwealth Relations Office would, I understand, regard it as anomalous to take power to deport from the United Kingdom citizens of independent Commonwealth countries if we did not also take power to deport citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies whose ordinary place of residence

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is 84to deport citizens of Page 24 kingdom that ephony 254 of the other hand, the Colonial Office consider

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and Colonies is inconsistent with the single citizenship which the United Kingdom shares with the Colonies.

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