TNAG-0714-FCO40-910-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 51

CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL

and the Commonwealth Secretariat a number of functions including

foreign affairs, defence, internal security, Civil Service and

legal system etc. They would be free to decide which to delegate

and which to retain. However, the paper envisaged that things like

education, health, etc. would fall only to the local governments.

4. I spent most of the lunch attempting to educate Mr Shelton on

the nature of UK responsibility for the dependencies, pointing out

the difficulty of producing any overall policy for territories as

different as Hong Kong on the one hand, and St Helena on the other

to say nothing of Belize and the Falkland Islands. I poured cold

water on the whole concept of Commonwealth Crown countries although

I said that there would not be any particular objection to changing

the name Colony. I think I managed to persuade Mr Shelton that

extensions of responsibility without power were most undesirable.

I also hope that he understood in the end the difference between the

various types of dependencies.

5. In this context Mr Shelton told me that he had had a discussion

with Mr John of Dominica. I could not be sure from what Mr Shelton

said whether he would support a Section 10(2) order for Dominica.

Certainly he seemed to need a good deal of educating about the

nature of Associated Statehood and the undesirability of perpetuating

it.

I was horrified to see that in his draft about Commonwealth

Crown countries he had in mind suggesting an extension of the 2/3rds

majority referendum principle.

6. On the question of Commonwealth cooperation I expressed some

scepticism about the desirability of expanding the Commonwealth

Secretariat. On the Commonwealth Assembly idea I urged that the

I also suggested implications needed a great deal more thought.

CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL

/that