TNAG-0401-FCO40-447-Review-of-the-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 85

CONFIDENTIAL

Provided this option is acceptable to opinion in the

United Kingdom its adoption involves no further

difficulty because is is the option preferred by

opinion in the Dependent Territories concerned.

i.

b.

ii.

Abolition of the Death Penalty by Persuasion

As recently as April 1973 the Governors of all

Dependent Territories which retain the death

penalty were asked to report on local attitudes

on the subject; they all replied that local opinion

remained firmly in favour of retention, thus

reaffirming the outcome of the previous soundings

taken in 1965 and 1970. To request the Governors

yet again to bring influence to bear on the local

Governments to reconsider their opposition to the

abolition of capital punishment is therefore very

unlikely to succeed, would be strongly resented

by most if not all of the Elected Legislatures and

would therefore serve no useful purpose. HMG

retains no responsibility or powers in the internal

affairs of the Associated States, and it would

therefore be unconstitutional as well as impolitic

to ask the Governors to raise this question with

their Governments.

Abolition of Legislative Actions by HMG

In the case of the Dependent Territories (but not

the Associated States) HMG can in the last resort

override local legislation by making Orders-in-

Council and could do so to abolish the death penalty.

/Although

3

CONFIDENTIAL