MACJANUS
This was no excuse, though, for the British decision to present their terms on sovereignty and on the size of the bases not as a matter for discussion but as an ultimatum. Archbishop Makarios was left with no room for manceuvre- which was foolish. because he was also left with the perfect excuse not to accept the proffered agreement: whereas if the Government had been prepared to make concessions (as to their credit they had been, up to .the time of the conference), it would have been hard for the Archbishop not to make some from the Cypriot side.
For all the show of intransigence the Govern- ment's heart does not seem to be in the business. The Foreign Secretary is clinging to his plan for the bases not because he thinks they are going to be useful but because the forces' chiefs insist that Britain must have them (without being able to say why) and because of the fecling,of the Right wing of the Conservative Party. But these two pressure groups should not be taken seriously. If there must be bases on Cyprus, they should be run by NATO with no attempt at alien sovereignty; and the Right-wingers can easily be fixed with the promise of under-secretaryships or knighthoods, or even a few discreet baronetcies, leaving only Hinching- brooke to complain—and he has been honest for too Fong to be taken seriously by the Whips.
The difficulties of the Kenya Constitutional Conference may appear to have arisen through the obstinacy or tactlessness of the African delegates; but here, too, the real mistake lay in paying atten- tion to the prejudices of the European delegation. If Africans are brought'here to negotiate as equals they must be treated as equals; there is no more reason why Mr. Koinange should be excluded from Lancaster House than there would have been to exclude Colonel Grivas (had he been nomi- nated) froin the Cypriot delegation.
But the African spotlight has in any case been stolen from Lancaster House by the Prime Minis- ter's pronouncements in Lagos and in Salisbury on the future of, Federation. The unanimous ver- dict of the press correspondents present was that Mr. Macmillan made a masterly strategic retreat in Salisbury from the position he had taken up before the Nigerian audience; and if he succeeded in convincing, the Rhodesian whites that he said and meant precisely the same thing in both speeches he must be a diplomatic genius. What he said in the two places can now be read in conjunction • Lagos : We will not remove the protection of the British Government from either of the north- ern territories--Northern Rhodesia or Nyasaland —until it is clear that the expressed wish of these peoples is to enter into a full and independent Federation.
Salisbury (quoting his earlier Commons speech) : When all units.a re in a position to agree and are agreed that British protection is no longer needed, then--and only then—can the whole Federation go forward to full independence and full Commonwealth membership.
This is indeed an astute piece of verbal juggling : both sides will be satisfied so long as they read only the version that suits them, and the two are not overtly contradictory.
As the Mail correspondent put it. this was Mr.
Macmillan 'at his most evasive best . . . he bril- liantly confused every issue which worries the Southern Rhodesians.' There are times when the spreading of such confusion is desirable, even essential; and-this may be one of them. If the Prime Minister can reassure the Rhodesian whites aboitt their future. while at the same time privately making it clear to Sir Roy that the only hope for Federation is•to give freedom to Northern Rho- desia and Nyasaland to opt out of it if they want to, later, he will have done a very fine week's work. It was a good sign, therefore, that he riled Sir Roy, at their first meeting; presumably he told Sir Roy some home truths.
But what Mr. Macmillan said in Lagos, by any interpretation, has made the Monckton Commis- sion look ridiculous. The Labour Party are now taking the line that if they knew two months ago what they have learnt from Mr. Macmillan's Lagos speech, they would have been willing to nominate members to the Commission. Perhaps they would —or perhaps they would have found another reason for not joining it—but surely the real point • is that if .Rhodesia and Nyasaland are not going to be compelled to join the Federation unless they want to, there is •no point in sending out a com- mission which is not allowed to take this possi- bility into active consideration. To do so is like appointing a Royal Commission to investigate capital punishment, but telling it not to give an opinion on the merits of capital punishment. • And. come to think of it. this is exactly what the Government once did.
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