Evolution of Colonial Territories

Abstract

THE debate on March 16 in the House of Commons on Colonial affairs may well come to be regarded as marking the beginning of a new phase in the handling of Colonial affairs-the phase that must follow and give substance to the accepted aspirations for the advance of the Colonial peoples to economic security, social well-being and ultimate partnership as responsible communities in the British Commonwealth. It was a first discussion of concrete but comprehensive plans for the development of one of the main regional entities into which the consideration of Colonial development will have, in increasing measure, to be grouped. The Stockdale Report, the proposals for a new constitution in Jamaica and the work of the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission which provided the substance of Colonel Stanley's speech, touched on every aspect of the development of the West Indies and raised the concrete issues involved in the next stages of advance. The Colonial Secretary himself emphasized the need to start with practical solutions of concrete problems. The proposals for the Jamaican constitution, published as a White Paper, attempt to give expression to the largest possible consensus of local opinion. Thus a bi-cameral system has been recommended, despite official demands for great simplicity, on the ground that a great deal more depends upon the spirit in which any constitution is going to be worked than upon the actual machinery that is devised. The proposal is seen as only a stage on the way. The paramount aim is declared to be to ensure further advances towards complete responsible government.