◆ SpookStack

Po ange te 8 me SR gemeg T eT RE ean RT OSL TT ental Rendle WE SE, de ea TE ee Soh pe tat See HW NEE te tet ao ae mene te - , : nectar men ane camden MH ae = Cn es aon 565 Former Foreign Office’ ? NOVEM m sure that he would sot dream of say- ing s0.. Mf one admits that only educa- jonal examinations and personal qualifi- ations are taken into consideration, if one a Acie that avaminations sre conducted admits that examinations are concucl ea fairly, and efforts are being constant) made to interest the provincial universi- Ries, 1 do not think (hat the burden of his charge is so heavy as he makes jt out to With regard to Oxford and Cambridge, I do not know exactly the proportions, but ibe vast majority of the undergradu- *ates of those universitics are maintained + by grants from Government or public © ha Alae we avnarianres af the Tiinlamatie = DHAJIES. evay Apel Lael WE Le ant pies ' Service is not extensive, but I certainly bknow a number of its members. * Last year, L went with a Parliamentary delega- tion to the Far East and saw a great deal of three Embassies ia Tokyo, Bangkok and Rangoon. I was deeply struck—-and f lam yery glad to have an opporlunity of aying this tribute—by the exceedingly igh standard of integrated efficiency typical of each of those three Missions, and I was immensely struck by the wide variety of social background of the mem: bers of those Missions. J am talking not only about the senior branch. I could not have been more favourably impressed My opinion was backed up in eac’ of those three capitals when ¥ talked to English businessmen and British citizens resident there. All of them said that the foreign nationals there were constantly expressing envy of our Foreign Service and saying that they wished their mis- sions Were as efficient and as representa- tive. I am sorry that this debate has so much taken the tone of an attack on the Foreign Service. We must avoid com- Placency, Dut adinb o td Lee Mr. Malcolm MacPherson: 'I am sure that the hon. Member will not take it that I am attacking the Foreign Service. 1 am tying to suggest how we can im- ove if. We are continually doing that in public jife in this country, without necessarily atlacking something which we want to improve. It is not simply a manter of the social background when one talks about Oxford and Cambridge, al- though that is important. I think that the Proportion of maintained scholars is probably less at these two institutions than the hon. Member thinks. Apart from social questions, there -is the purely-. DW . § et a woe ee eee Ree mt eer + 2 ie ee meee a ti ee ~ . Meee Oe gt oe Ete re a ee os ge ee Pe ree eee ona ‘ + K ‘are AE Pe core + res ar Se eee! cas wae Oe wt De eS: a Fe re a a a och ti a OL . = = Tor: - . ne ae ‘ wile bet ogee thea EAR, ee eye 1. sate anGnbt? Tham ae 0 BER 1955 opie yp De 458 Sees | Intellectual question of people coming -: - from the same kind of intellectual chan- , net. These two universities are like each © ~ other and different from the universities: —_ af Teed: or Glaconw e channal thaw ws Se Ue Sa ateiented ~ dete) Se WATE GE he come from is the same kind intellectually, apart sliogether from the social side. ----: Mr. Nicholson : The hon. Gentleman is very disarming. IT was nol accusing him -~<-. of making ao unfair of unreasonable attack. I was thinking of the speech ---.--- made by the hon. Member for Coventry, East (Mr. Crossman), which I regarded ~~~" as most spnepa. do not want to be Jed away by the hon. Gentleman into the quesiion of iniclicctual channels. 1 think at everyone bears the stamp of the ia- stitution at which he was educated, but “" = t I think that socia! backeround is perhaps one of the most important things," *~"4 - ” J was saying that I believe that hls. fhe experience of hon. Members io this House that wherever they go. or almost everywhere they go, they fiod that the British Mission in a foreign capital has the highest reputation of any Mission it is a great pity, as I have said, that this debate has taken that particular - While we must avoid complacency, # —.- —. is not only unjust and uofair but short- _. sighted and inimical to the best interests of this country if it goes out to the world - . that the House of Commons has spent ~~ - the best part of a day in attacking d - .. - service that is the envy of every othe . nation in the world, There have certainly ~~ been these, mistakes over Maclean and - J Burgess, but the fact remains--and I say ~~ it categorically—that our Foreign Service is varied in its personnel, ig democratic oc in the sense that in all ranks its members ~~ are drawn from the most diverse social -_.. . background, is efficient. and is envied, --.-:-~ While not atlempting to cover up what “> has happened, I do beg the House to ~~" keep a sense of proportion and a sense 2... of balance, .-... gy yn? te c Peer ot * Something’ was said by the Foreigd “~~ Secretary about members of the Foreign ~--: ~ } Service having fewer of the rights of ; ordinary citizens than did members of = **™ the rest of the Civil Service. He referred . ; to the committee which gets rid of people who are considered unsuitable, 1 believg cir. .-. that if the confidence, which has been a - little shaken, is to be fully restored, the’ ~~ work of thal commitice will have:to-go --- + -- & further, and 1 think that mombers-of. ' woe a are et Sn ao ee a. Tae ee te Aa ee rey y La RAM ek eo