Overseas Resources Development Act 1948
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1948 c. 15,11 & 12 Geo. 6 c. 15 |
| Year | 1948 |
Overseas Resources Development Act, 1948
(11 & 12 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 15.
An Act to provide for the establishment of a Colonial Development Corporation charged with duties for securing development in colonial territories, and for the establishment of an Overseas Food Corporation charged with duties for securing the production or processing of foodstuffs or other products in places outside the United Kingdom, and the marketing thereof, and for matters connected therewith.
[11th February 1948]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Colonial Development Corporation.
1 Establishment of Colonial Development Corporation, and functions thereof.
(1) There shall be established in accordance with this Act a body, to be called the Colonial Development Corporation, charged with the duty of securing the investigation, formulation and carrying out of projects for developing resources of colonial territories with a view to the expansion of production therein of foodstuffs and raw materials, or for other agricultural, industrial or trade development therein.
(2) The said Corporation shall have power, for the purpose of the discharge of their duty under the preceding subsection,—
(a ) to carry on all activities the carrying on whereof appears to them to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for or in connection with the discharge of their said duty, including the processing and marketing of products;
(b ) to promote the carrying on of any such activities by other bodies or persons, and for that purpose to establish or expand, or promote the establishment or expansion of, other bodies to carry on any such activities either under the control or partial control of the Corporation or independently, and to give assistance to such bodies or to other bodies or persons appearing to the Corporation to have facilities for the carrying on of any such activities, including financial assistance by the taking up of share or loan capital or by grant, loan or otherwise;
(c ) to carry on any such activities in association with other bodies or persons (including Government authorities), or as managing agents or otherwise on their behalf.
2 Constitution of Colonial Development Corporation.
(1) The Colonial Development Corporation shall consist of a chairman, a deputy chairman and such number of other members, not being less than four or more than ten, as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine.
(2) The chairman, the deputy chairman and the other members of the said Corporation shall be appointed by the Secretary of State from amongst persons appearing to him to be qualified as having had experience of, and having shown capacity in, matters relating to primary production, industry or trade, finance, science, administration, organisation of workers or welfare, and in making such appointments the Secretary of State shall have particular regard to the need for securing that adequate experience of those matters obtained in colonial territories is at the disposal of the Corporation.
(3) The provisions of the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the said Corporation.
Overseas Food Corporation.
3 Establishment of Overseas Food Corporation, and functions thereof.
(1) There shall be established in accordance with this Act a body, to be called the Overseas Food Corporation, charged with the duty of—
(a ) securing the investigation, formulation and carrying out of projects for production or processing in places outside the United Kingdom of foodstuffs or agricultural products other than foodstuffs, and for the marketing of foodstuffs or such products; and
(b ) as the first project to be carried out by them, securing the large-scale production of groundnuts, together with crops rotational therewith or ancillary thereto, in colonial territories in East and Central Africa, and the marketing thereof:
Provided that the Corporation shall not take in hand for the purpose of the discharge of their duty under paragraph (a ) of this subsection the investigation, formulation or carrying out of a project to be carried out in a colonial territory unless the Secretary of State has invited them so to do.
(2) The said Corporation shall, for the purpose of the discharge of their duty under the preceding subsection, have power to carry on all activities the carrying on whereof appears to them to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for or in connection with the discharge of their said duty, and the like powers as are conferred on the Colonial Development Corporation by paragraphs (b ) and (c of section one of this Act for the purpose of the discharge of the duty of that Corporation under subsection (1) of that section.
4 Constitution of Overseas Food Corporation.
(1) The Overseas Food Corporation shall consist of a chairman, a deputy chairman and such number of other members, not being less than four or more than ten, as the Minister of Food may from time to time determine.
(2) The chairman, the deputy chairman and the other members of the said Corporation shall be appointed by the said Minister from amongst persons appearing to him to be qualified as having had experience of, and having shown capacity in, such matters as are referred to in subsection (2) of section two of this Act in relation to the appointment of members of the Colonial Development Corporation.
(3) The provisions of the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Overseas Food Corporation.
5 Transfer to the Overseas Food Corporation of assets and liabilities of the Minister of Food relating to groundnuts production.
(1) On a day to be appointed by the Minister of Food (in this section referred to as ‘the transfer date’) there shall vest in the Overseas Food Corporation, by virtue of this section and without further assurance,—
(a ) all property vested in the said Minister immediately before the transfer date for the purposes only of arrangements which have been made by him for starting the production of groundnuts as mentioned in subsection (1) of section three of this Act or other activities such as are to fall within the functions of the Corporation; and
(b ) all rights and liabilities of the said Minister then subsisting under contracts entered into by him or on his behalf for such purposes only;
and on and after the transfer date any such contract shall have effect as if the Corporation had been a party thereto instead of the said Minister, or, in the case of a contract entered into by another person as agent for him, instead of that other person, and any proceeding or cause of action pending immediately before the transfer date by or against the said Minister in respect of any such property or contract may be continued and enforced by or against the Corporation.
(2) If, by reason of the situation outside the United Kingdom of any such property or of the application to any such contract, as the proper law thereof, of the law of any country outside the United Kingdom or for any other cause, a vesting provided for by this section is not fully effectual or the Corporation are not in a position to enforce rights under such a contract, the said Minister shall give to the Corporation such assistance in that behalf, whether by executing an assurance of the property or an assignment of the contract or himself taking steps to enforce it or otherwise, as it appears to him to be in his power to give.
(3) The Corporation shall pay to the said Minister at such time or times as he may direct a sum or sums equal in the aggregate to the aggregate of all expenses incurred by him in making or giving effect to the arrangements aforesaid less the aggregate of any receipts of his attributable to giving effect thereto, and shall indemnify him against any expense which he may incur by virtue of the last preceding subsection or in discharging any liability of his in respect of any such property or contract as aforesaid.
(4) As between the said Minister and the Corporation the said Minister shall have power to determine any question arising in giving effect to the provisions of this section—
(a ) as to any property vested in him or contract entered into by him or on his behalf, whether it was so vested or entered into for purposes mentioned in subsection (1) of this section only, or
(b ) as to any expenses or receipts of his, whether they were incurred or attributable as mentioned in the last preceding subsection or what was the amount thereof.
(5) Sums received by the said Minister under this section shall be paid into the Exchequer.
Application of subsequent provisions to each of the said Corporations.
6 Application of subsequent provisions to each of the said Corporations.
(1) The provisions of the subsequent sections of this Act and of the Schedule thereto shall apply, subject as therein expressly mentioned, to each of the said Corporations.
(2) In the said provisions of this Act the expression ‘the responsible Minister’ means, in relation to the Colonial Development Corporation, the Secretary of State, and, in relation to the Overseas Food Corporation, the Minister of Food.
Provisions as to exercise of functions.
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