CO537-1651 — Page 40

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through the Legislature, the lower chamber of which is fully elected, and.....which has complete control over finance. At the same time the Legislature has no responsible ministerial representation in the Executive, and as a result tends to view its functions largely in terms of obstruction."

Hitherto the only spokesman of the Government in the House of Assembly, has been the Attorney-General, who is an elected member and on whom has fallen the responsibility of piloting Government business through the House. He has in recent months been a way ill, and in his absence the Governor has taken a first step towards constitutional change by associating the 8 members of the Executive Committee appointed by him (four members of the House and one of Legislative Council) with the work of the various departments of Government and making them responsible for conducting the affairs of those departments in the House of Assembly.

THE GOVERNOR'S PRESENT PROPOSALS.

Sir G.Bushe now proposes to make an announcement (this month if possible) before the general election:

(1) That after the election he intends to send for the leader

of the majority party in the House of ssembly and ask him to submit to him the names of the other three membera of the House whom he wishes to sit with him on Executive Committee; (the Legislative Council representative on Executive Committee the Governor would nominate himself).

(2) That members of Executive Committee will be asked each

to take charge of the general policy relating to partic- ular departments of the Government for the purpose of dealing with the affairs of those departments in the Executive Committee and the House of Assembly. (We have ascertained and had confirmation from the Governor that he would retain, through his Heads of Departments, his power of executive direction and administrative control - e.g. of staff, etc., of the departments.)

(3) That the Executive Committee will then cease to be a

number of individuals nominated by the Governor for the purpose of advising him and will become an effective organ of Government accepting collective responsibility for policy. (The Governor has explained that his position would be that of a constitutional Governor and would normally accept the advice of his Executive Committee. As the leader of the majority party will only command four seats out of nine, it is unlikely that the Governor would have to use his veto to stop. any very extreme or ill-considered measure since it would probably not be passed by the other members of Executive Committee.)

ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROPOSALS.

These proposals have been carefully considered in this office and a number of points elucidated. It is now agreed that they are acceptable, and in fact cannot well be avoided since for a number of reasons it is now clear that after the next elections it will be politically impossible to continue the old arrangement under which the Attorney-General repres- ents the Government in the House of Assembly. The Depart- ment feel that we need not fear repercussion in the Bahamas. In Barbados the legislature is representative of a wide section of th population (and in fact power is now in process of being transferred from a white minority to the black majority). In the Bahamas on the other hand

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