BRITISH COLONIAL EMPIRE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30563, 5 October 1964, Page 17

BRITISH COLONIAL EMPIRE

Programme Prepared For Wind-Up (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, October 4. Britain’s Commonwealth and Colonial Secretary (Mr Duncan Sandys) is preparing a final time-table for winding up what is left of the colonial Empire and for consolidating the Commonwealth, the “Sunday Telegraph” reported today. Completion of the programme would put a stop to Afro-Asian anti-colonialist campaigns against Britain, the newspaper’s Commonwealth affairs correspondent, John Michael, said.

Mr Sandys’s timetable had three main headings. The first concerned new members of the Commonwealth.

Conferences for granting independence within the Commonwealth to eight British colonies in the West Indies (grouped together as a federation) and to British Guiana would be called before the end of next year.

There would be completion early next year of arrangements for Gambia, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, and Swaziland and Mauritius to bec o m e independent members of the Commonwealth within two years, and for Aden and the South Arabian federation as a whole to join the Commonwealth i n 1968. Michael said the other two parts of the programme were:— Consolidating the Commonwealth.—Representatives of

all Commonwealth countries to hold meetings in London before Christmas to set up a Commonwealth secretariat. The Commonwealth Prime Ministers to meet on a fixed date every year. Commonwealth and Common Market—The next Commonwealth conference to renew discussion on Britain’s entry into the Common Mar-

ket and on special links between the market and the Commonwealth. Hong Kong and Gibraltar to remain linked with Britain but “associated” with the market. The other smaller British colonies, notably Fiji, to be offered similar association arrangements; each of which would meet their special problems and/or independence.