TNAG-0005-FCO40-41-Departmental-briefs-about-Hong-Kong-1968 — Page 137

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(11)

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reaction of H.K. Chiese

were made feare?

CONFIDENTIAL

honoure are accepted in all the territories;

There is likely to be less objection in those

territories to their citizens sitting in the

'Imperial' Parliament than there would be in

independent countries to their citizens sitting in

another country's legislature;

(111) The United Kingdom Parliament has a legitimate over-

sesing role in respect of the dependent territories;

(v) Nomination would be clearly in the hands of the

British Prime Minister with the need for only infor-

mal consultation with the authorities in the

OBJECTIONS

dependent territories.

5. Despite the preceding paragraph, there are nevertheless

a number of objections to any scheme for peers from the

dependent territories:

(1) The basic principle in the selection of peers is

that they are chosen on individual merit and not

as representatives or delegates of a particular

area, organisation or interest;

none

(11) It would be difficult to discriminate between the

territories and, to avoid unacceptable jealousies,

it would have to be virtually all or noting"; and

larger territories, say Hong Kong, might reasonably

olaim to have more 'representatives' than the

smaller ones, such as the Seychelles;

(111) It would be difficult to discriminate between

different political or racial interests within a

dependent territory; thus, for example, it would

probably be necessary to have a Fijian Indian

peer as well as a Fijian native one. And a change

of government in the territory could provoke a

justifiable demand for increased 're resentation'

in the House of Lords to reflect the change;

CONFIDENTIAL

(iv) Peers