Sir Roy Welensky's Withdrawal
The decision of Sir Roy Welensky and the other European elected members of the Northern Rhodesian Legislative Coun- cil to withdraw from co-operation with the official members of the Government is a direct challenge to the Colonial Secretary. When in September, Mr. Lyttelton announced certain minor constitutional changes for Northern Rhodesia—bringing two more Europeans and two more Africans on to the Legislative Council, and giving the representation of two more depart- ments to unofficial members of the Executive Council, the policy-making body—Sir Roy Welensky gave a warning that he and his colleagues would not accept them. There followed a request that the Colonial Secretary should defer these changes until he had visited Northern Rhodesia and discussed them on the spot. It is his refusal to do so which has led to this latest protest by the elected Members. Their disapproval is not so much of the small constitutional changes in themselves as of the clear indication which they give that the Colonial Secretary is not prepared to increase the already considerable power of the European elected members and give them a clear majority. In practice they are already dominant in all but African affairs. In the face of the greater problem of making Federation a success, their impatience for more local power is ill-advised. Sir Roy Welen'sky's latest move is a rash one.
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