TNAG-0832-FCO40-1040-Future-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1979 — Page 71

CODE 18-77

Mr McLaren

DESPATCH ON DECOLONISATION

CONFIDENTIAL

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1. In your minute of 11 April at folio 16 below, you record Mr Stratton's suggestion that we should continue to work on the draft decolonisation despatch on the assumption that we should want to submit it to Ministers of whatever persuasion. However, on closer examination, I am not sure that we can use the draft as it stands, now that we are to have a Conservative Government. The despatch was seen as a follow-up to Mr Callaghan's 1975 despatch setting out the previous Government's policy towards the Dependent Territories. Although their policy was uncontro- versial, and it seems unlikely that the new Government will wish to change it, the 1975 despatch was not a published document and must therefore be considered to come within the category of papers that should not be seen by the new Government without prior clearance. I suggest that rather than do this (particu- larly since the draft was not entirely satisfactory anyway), we should start the whole exercise again from scratch. This would involve submitting in due course to our new Ministers, outlining the existing policy, stressing that it is part of a consistent policy followed by all Governments since 1945, and recommending that a new despatch should be sent to all Governors confirming that the policy remains ready unchanged.

verdig unchanged. Although the despatch will therefore be broadly similar, I think it will probably be better to produce a fresh draft.

2. This is obviously not a matter of immediate urgency for the new Government, and I suggest therefore that we should put the papers away for a while and aim to produce the submission and new draft at about the end of June.

4 May 1979

Nited P 9/5 b/u. 21 May plean

ON

Mr Quantni

Mr Shoulton

Muisters

W.E. Chantill

W E Quantrill

Hong Kong and General Department

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