TNAG-0831-FCO40-1039-Commonwealth-Parliamentary-Association-(CPA)-annual-conferen-1979 — Page 8

fo stability and continued prosperity.

koyal Commission

Lord Pitt chaired a koyal Commission of enquiry into the 1977 disturbances. The Commission was set up by the Governor with wide terms of reference to enable it to investigate the under-lying causes of the disturbances with a view to making Its recommendations for the healthy development of Bermuda. report, which was published in Bermuda on 2 August, contains a large number of detailed recommendations the great majority of which are in internal fields for which the british Government have no responsibility. One major recommendation is that there should be a conference by the end of the year to discuss electoral reform. This proposal is under consideration in

Bermuda and London.

Select Committee on Capital Punishment

The Bermuda House of Assembly have set up a Select Committee to examine the question of the retention of capital punishment in Bermuda and will report later in the year. The House of Assembly decided in a free vote in 1975 to retain the death penalty.

Independence

The Bermuda Government published a Creen Paper on independence in 1977 and have recently conducted a canvass of opinion with a view to publishing a White Paper later this year. The Royal Commission expressed the view that independence is essential for the development of a sense of national unity.