TNAG-0212-FCO40-248-Departmental-briefs-on-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 34

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SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

DRAFT

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted, Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

To:-

Type 1 +

From

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

Surgasted Background Notes for Lord Lothian

In considering the management of the remaining

British dependent territories, we have been faced silve

the early sixties with a continously changing sivation

On the one hand, with the progressive moves to full

independence of most of our former colonial

territories, we are now left with a group of

miscellaneous small territories. On the other hand,

we have seen at home the absorption of the Colonial

Office with the Commonwealth Relations Office in 1956

to form the Commonwealth Office, and in 1963 the

amalgamation of the Commonwealth and Foreign Offices.

For the first time in Britain's nistory, one Secretary

of State has since 1968 become responsible for all

Britain's external affairs including the good

administration of the remaining Dependent Territories

overseas.

2.

Up to 1961, the Secretary of State for the

Colonies and the Colonial Office had sole responsibility

for all matters concerned with the staffing of dependent

territories. From that year, however, the Secretary

of State, first of the Colonial Office, then of the

Commonwealth Office and now of the F.C.0. retained the

overall responsibility; but the DTC, and since 1964 -

the ODM acted as advisers to the Secretary of Stato

and handled virtually all the administrative matter.

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