The Press THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1966. End Of An Era

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31129, 4 August 1966, Page 14

The Press THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1966. End Of An Era

The merging of the Colonial Office with the Commonwealth Relations Office to form a department of State to be known as the Commonwealth Office implies a great deal more than a change of name in an age when the decent interment of words in the class of “colonial” and “Empire” has come to be regarded as both desirable and overdue. The formal disappearance of the Colonial Office is a reminder, in perhaps the most emphatic form possible, that the old British Empire exists no longer outside historical terms and usages. And all this has happened in a matter of two decades. Britain emerged from the Second World War with the Empire still significant as an entity and respectable as a word. The forces of change were, however, already gathering strength; and the movement towards independence in the colonial territories was inexorable and often so urgent as to bewilder the very administrators who were working to carry out the declared British policy of granting independence as soon as practicable.

In 1945 there was a British Empire which covered about a quarter of the globe; since that year Britain has given independence to 25 territories with a population of 700 million. The Colonial Office under its new title of Dependent Territories Division of the Commonwealth Office still bears responsibility for about 10 million, a third of whom live in Hong Kong, the rest scattered among 29 territories. Decolonisation is therefore approaching completion; but the part which is left presents formidable problems. The task is to find constitutional devices to suit territories with extremely small populations. Pitcairn is one; and the island’s inhabitants number fewer than 100. The problems grow more intractable as the size of the territories becomes smaller Although the Colonial Office itself was not founded until 1844 it had its origins more than two centuries earlier as the “ Council of Foreign “ Plantations ”, established when Virginia became the first of the British colonies. The reasons why Britain, and, indeed, other great Powers, sought to build up an Empire were numerous. They were moved often by considerations of prestige; they also saw unusual opportunities for their nationals; sometimes they saw the new lands as dumping-grounds for their less desirable citizens. But the most compelling reason for creating an Empire was trade. The common interest of trade remains the greatest force in Commonwealth unity; and this is true even though, from Britain’s point of view, trading is not everywhere as profitable in the new’ Commonwealth as it was in the old Empire. Experts in all phases of the Commonwealth are needed in Whitehall now as much as ever in the past; and there is no doubt that the merger of the two offices is the surest means of maintaining efficiency and ensuring that the accumulated experience of the officials is not dissipated. Under its new name the old Colonial Office still has a destiny in the interests of the Commonwealth. The Colonial Office has been one of the great British departments of State. It has often been the centre of controversy at home and abroad. Mistakes have been made; but the balance of achievement is well on its side, and it can end its independent existence with justifiable pride. Without a doubt it has been the most successful agency in the world for guiding colonial people to Independence in dignity and freedom.