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things were as strange to some of us as they were to primitive
local peoples for whom the chief and the witch doctor had long been the summit of the local hierarchy.
2. Now that the flowering of this epoch of decolonisation is past we are left with only a few faded petals on the stem. Most of the territories which remain dependent are in that condition either because they wish to be so or because circumstances leave them no alternative. Belize, the largest remaining territory
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in terms of area, fulfils the usual British criteria for indep- endence, namely that the people, or at least their elected leaders, desire it and the country is able to sustain it. In 1963 it achieved full internal self-government under a constitution designed as a transitional stage. Yet for reasons outside our control we have been unable to follow through and take the final step to independence. In my despatch of 14 February I explained why there seemed little reason to hope for an early solution to our external problems and suggested that during a period of continued dependence the Premier, Mr Price, would be likely to renew the pressure for devolution of further powers from Governor to Ministers. My purpose in this despatch is to examine how we may best adapt traditional policy to meet such a situation if it arises.
3. The coast of Belize was first settled by Britons around 1640 as a result of the demand for logwood in Europe. To sur- vive in those rough times the settlers needed to manage their own affairs and they evolved their own simple forms of justice and of government by public meeting until in 1765 Burnaby's Code became in effect their first constitution, providing for a council, laws and elected magistrates. After the Treaty with Spain in 1783, British responsibility (although not sovereignty) was acknowledged
2.
CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL
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