CO537-1651 — Page 33

should go to the Crown Agents for the Colonies for their information and guidance.

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Sir T. Lloyd.

I have read these unfamiliar papers with very great interest. I make bold to mention, with regard to (2) of Mr. Caine's minute of the 21st January, that the experiment of entrusting non-official members of the Legislature with responsibility in the Legislature for particular Departments, has recently been inaugurated in Barbados by Sir G. Bushe. I do not suggest that this would form a close precedent for Hong Kong; Barbados has had

Barbados has had a fully elected House of Assembly for 300 years, and Sir G. Bushe's experiment is designed to loosen the intolerable difficulty of the situation whereby full power rests with the Legis- lature, but full responsibility with the Executive. Details of the Barbados plan, which Mr. Elliott of the West Indian Department, can supply, may, however, be of interest to Mr. Mayle.

I am also interested to observe, incidentally, from paragraph 8 of the telegram at 79, that the provision of reserve powers for the Governor, with which we are familiar in the West Indies (except Barbados) has not been contemplated, at any rate as this file shows, for Hong Kong, where the old-fashioned method of a majority of ex officio plus nominated members is contemplated. Here again, I do not venture to suggest on my present information that reserve powers would be appropriate in Hong Kong; one can indeed see that situations might arise in which they would be virtually unexerciseable.

On the immediate point raised by Mr. Mayle, I am doubtful about the proposal of an express direction by yourself. This would presumably have to say, or at any rate imply, that development plans for Hong Kong were to be given precedence over all others. This may be the intention of paragraph. (f) of the Secretary of State's minute. It may conceiv- ably turn out that circumstances will call for special attention to the plans of another Colony or Colonies; and if we were to embark on a series of alternating directives from the Head of the Office, it would probably cause a certain amount of confusion. I am reminded of the situation when I was in the Ministry of Supply when orders were issued with baffling frequency by the Minister to concentrate on varying

requirements.

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