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DIE
CONFIDENTIAL
HKG025/2
11 JAN 1979
No
या
86
Fir Quantrill HKGD
cc hir Nason, PID
Mr Fullerton, SED Mr Sindall, SAmD Mr Joy, M&ED Mr Rosling, EAD Hr Posnett
POLICY TOWARDS DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
1.
I refer to your minute of 10 October.
69
2. We will be submitting territorial surveys in respect of Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, St Helena dependencies, Turks and Caicos Islands in due course in the format you suggest.
3. We consider the West Indian Associated States should be mentioned briefly and we will prepare a separate survey for Anguilla.
4.
In using the term "Reserve Powers" I assume you mean those powers which enable us to control the actions of local governments and not just the Governor's reserved power in relation to legislation. Attached is a note I have prepared which sets out the powers we have to enable us to exercise control over our caribbean and Atlantic dependencies. The note is divided into
However,
a general section and a section giving details of the particular powers exercisable by Her Majesty and OAGs in each territory. In the department we believe that there should be no further devolution of these powers to local governments until such time as they agree to internal self-government to be followed by independence at a specified time thereafter. (This does not rule out minor, often cosmetic, constitutional change.) it is not going to be easy to find the form of words you are seeking to describe the powers we intend to retain pending the grant of independence, because, as you can see from the table I have drawn up, the powers we have at present to control or influence events in dependencies are not common. For example in Bermuda, BVI and Montserrat the Governor is bound by the advice of the Executive on internal affairs, but in Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands he may, with the Secretary of State's prior concurrence, act contrary to the advice if he considers it expedient to do so in the interests of public order, public faith and good government. Perhaps we should not try to itemize the powers we wish to retain, but say that the British Government will need to retain its powers under existing Constitutions and then go on to say that there will be no further devolution of these powers to local governments.
5.
With regard to Aid Policy I agree that there is a certain amount of equivocation in the 1975 Despatch concerning the use of aid, but, given that aid programmes are very individual
1 CONFIDENTIAL
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