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assistance. Both have substantial control of their
internal affairs,
.
In the Bahares the unexpected victory in January of the Progressive
Liberal Party (representing the majority coloured community
the ratio is 5 : 1) has removed the threat to internal
security which their defeat might have brought.
The new
Government has so far showed no disposition to pursue
extreme policies but there may be errors due to inexperience,
since few of its members have ever served in a Legislature
before.
When in opposition, the Progressive Liberal Party
attached the then Bahamian Government for allegedly per-
mitting American ganster interests to benefit from gambling
in the Bahamas. Since assuming office they have set up
a Commission of Inquiry of outside experts to start work
in Nassau on 13th March.
The ratio of coloured to whites in Bermuda is 7:4,
as against 5:1 in Bahamas. A new constitution for Bermuda
was agreed at a London conference last November by moderate
leaders of both communities. The more extremist section
of the coloured leadership who are dissatisfied with the
constituency arrangements reached at the conference may be
encouraged by recent events in the Bahamas to pursue racist
policies. On the other hand some of the whites, who over
the past few years have gone along with liberal developments,
may now have second thoughts about the proposed constitut--
ional changes.
11.
The smaller Caribbean Dependencies
These urgently need more help to assist economic
development.
Most of them have tourist potential, and
some tourist development is indeed beginning. But we face
the steady expansion of American (and some times Canadian)
investment, so that the incongrous position may well arise
in which we have constitutional responsibility for largely
Americanised areas. The change of government in the
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/Bahamas