TNAG-0212-FCO40-248-Departmental-briefs-on-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 64

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HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE ON DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

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I met Lord Shepherd at a party yesterday evening and he told me the line he proposed to take in the debate on 8 December.

2. Now that Fiji is independent and the Bahamas can be independent when they like we are left with a group. of small territories whose problems are very similar, essentially especially problems of economic development and social welfare. (Lord Shepherd said he would not talk about Hong Kong which was in a separate category. He would concentrate on the little places. He did not specifically say so, but I would guess from what he told me of his general theme that he would also not expect the debate to dwell much on Gibraltar.)

3. Lord Shepherd said that, as his Motion indicated, his main request would be that H.M.G. should undertake' a review of policy. He would ask in particular that the Government should set up a review body, say 2 or 3 eminent people including a colonial governor of ability. and distinction to look at all the machinery through which we carry out our administration, political and economic, of the dependent territories. The terms of reference of such a body should cover machinery in London and the machinery abroad, i.e. the staffing of the dependent territories administrations.

4. As regards the machinery in London, Lord Shepherd: said that his view was that, given the primary importance of economic and social development, the dependent territories part of the Office should be closely associated (I am not sure that he did not use the word "integrated") with ODA. He would, of course. not say so in the debate but his view was that it would have been better if the Colonial Office had never been "merged".