}
Mr Stratton
CONFIDENTIAL
HKG.025/1
No 8277 00
fur
Hi Quan vui
cc:
Mr McLaren (HKGD Mr Duff (WIAD)
You asked me to let Sir Peter Ramsbotham see the draft despatch on colonial policy. I did so last week and he had only two observations to make. The first concerned the phrase "political education" in paragraph 5. While this is alright as shorthand in a confidential document he thought it would sound patronising in a document to be seen by political leaders. The point is well taken and the phrase could perhaps be replaced by something like
"enabling political leaders to gain experience of
Government".
2. His other reservation related to the phrase in paragraph 7, line 15
"we shall need to review its constitutional relationship..".
He pointed out that in the case of Bermuda if, following the next election, the elected Government were to decide that it was still not ready to move to independence it would seem odd to re-open constitutional issues which we have been trying to stitch together during last week's conference. Again I think the point can be overcome by re-phrasing on the following lines:
"The UK Government will need to consider whether the
subsisting constitutional relationship of the territory with the United Kingdom requires any adjustment or amendment."
(The paragraph references are to the draft in the form in which I re-cast it at Mr Duff's request).
3. You also asked me whether I really thought it important that the draft should be seen by Governors. I have given this further thought and I have to say that in my view it would be time well spent to give Governors an opportunity to see the draft and think about it in their own particular context. The two relatively small comments by Sir Peter Ramsbotham seem to me to illustrate the value of obtaining local reaction; and I cannot see that this is a matter of such urgency after it has been so long in gestation.
и твоит
RN POSNETT
21 February 1979
CONFIDENTIAL