Pearce Commission

The Commission on Rhodesian Opinion, also known as the Pearce Commission, was a British commission set up in 1971 to test the acceptability of a proposed constitutional settlement in Rhodesia.^[1] It was created by the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The commission was popularly known as the Pearce Commission after its chairman, retired British judge Edward Pearce, Baron Pearce. The Pearce Commission reported in 1972 that although the European, Coloured, and Asian communities of Rhodesia were in favour of the proposals, the African population rejected them.

Background

The commission was established on 25 November 1971, pursuant to the terms of the Proposals for Settlement agreed between the British and Rhodesian governments on 21 November 1971. The settlement recognised Rhodesia's 1969 constitution as the legal frame of government, while agreeing that gradual legislative representation was an acceptable formula for unhindered advance to majority rule. Nevertheless, the new settlement, if approved, would also implement an immediate improvement in black political status, offer a means to terminate racial discrimination, and provide a solid guarantee against retrogressive constitutional amendments.

Members

Chairman

Lord Pearce

Deputy Chairmen

Lord Harlech
Sir Maurice Dorman
Sir Glyn Jones
Sir Frederick Pedler (withdrew on personal grounds on 7 January 1972)

Commissioners

D. Blain
G. R. B. Blake, OBE
J. E. Blunden
J. H. Burges
P. L. Burkinshaw, OBE
I. E. Butler
T. H. R. Cashmore
A. F. Dawkins (1916-2009), schoolmaster and uncle of Richard Dawkins.^[2]
F. W. Essex, CMG
D. F. H. H. Frost, MBE
Freda H. Gwilliam, CBE^[1]
J. L. S. Harrison
J. F. Hayley, OBE
P. A. Large
J. D. Massingham
M. Patey, MBE
C. G. C. Rawlins, DFC, OBE
J. C. Strong
A. St. John Sugg, CMG
A. H. Whitfield
R. M. Allen (Statistician)

Secretariat

H. Smedley, CMG, MBE (Secretary-General)
J. R. L. G. Varcoe (Deputy Secretary-General)
B. E. Pauncefort (Assistant Secretary-General (Press))
A. B. Gundersen (Assistant Secretary)
A. Fayle (Administrative Officer)

References

^ ^a ^b Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (2004-09-23). "Freda Gwilliam". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64198. Retrieved 2023-08-02. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Dawkins, Richard (8 June 2017). Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist. Transworld. ISBN 978-1-4735-4166-5.

Report

Rhodesia: Report of the Commission on Rhodesian Opinion Under the Chairmanship of the Right Honourable the Lord Pearce. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. Cmnd. 4964.

Secondary literature

O’Meara, Patrick (1975). "The Pearce Commission: Catalyst". Rhodesia: Racial Conflict or Coexistence?. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. pp. 40–54. doi:10.7591/9781501744723-006. ISBN 9781501744723. S2CID 241306387.
Shamuyarira, Nathan M. (1972). "Rhodesia after the Pearce Commission Report, 1972". The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs. 2 (4): 467–498.
White, Luise (2011). "'Normal Political Activities': Rhodesia, The Pearce Commission, and the African National Council". The Journal of African History. 52 (3): 321–340. doi:10.1017/S0021853711000466. JSTOR 41480243. S2CID 154848533.

[gwilliam-1] Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (2004-09-23). "Freda Gwilliam". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64198. Retrieved 2023-08-02. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[Dawkins_SiS-2] Dawkins, Richard (8 June 2017). Science in the Soul: Selected Writings of a Passionate Rationalist. Transworld. ISBN 978-1-4735-4166-5.

[1]

[2]