NEW BRITISH DOMINION

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume VL, Issue 3133, 12 February 1934, Page 7

NEW BRITISH DOMINION

IN WEST INDIAN GROUP Preparatory steps towards creating a great British colony composed of the British islands in the West Indies, beginning with an immediate fusion of the Leeward and Windward Islands, are outlined in the report of a Governmental Commission released by the Colonial Office, says a New York paper.

The plan designed to create a unified colony, and, it is presumed, eventually a new Dominion, faces a number of difficulties. Some of these are so great that Trinidad and Tobago are not included in the scheme of unification, although that possibility has been under consideraton.

As the plan now stands the two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles will be brought into a form of' a loose federation with the common Governor, but with a great deal of autonomy among the individual islands making up the parabola which forms the south-eastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea.

The Commission which made the report is composed of General Sir Charles Fergusson, chairman; Sir Charles Orr and Mac Neill Campbell of the Colonial Office. It was created in March, 1931, by the last Labour Government. It was assigned “to examine on the spot the possibilities of closer union between Trinidad and the Windward and Leeward Islands or some of them.”

The Commission in its report deliberately excluded Barbados, but the Government indicates it will eventually be included in the amalgamations. The Commission reported that in the Leeward Islands is found a scattered federal system, but with strong local autonomous units. In the Windward Islands it found an association of the three main islands under one Governor, but otherwise they were independent of each other. Trinidad and Tobago it found forced into an amalgamation with a common treasury and one legislature. Thriving Colony. Trinidad, although it is suffering from the depression, the Commissioners found to be a thriving colony, discontented because it is saddled with the poorer Tobago. Due to this experience, Trinidad is unwilling to share its revenues with other units Of the British West Indies. Therefore, the idea Was dropped.

TKiroughGUt the trW the Commission found the islanders full of heated condemnation of Governmental expenditure.

“Most of the islands —indeed, we may say all —pay lip service to the general idea of a federation,” the report said, “but corporations and individuals who appeared before us made it clear that to make any federation or closer union acceptable, the Government must achieve economy in administration, combined with other distinct advantage®;, and must in no case entail absorpton of their island by some larger unit or the destruction of its own individuality.” The Leewards and Windwards would be united under a single Governor with headquarters on the Island of Santa Lucia in the Windward group. The present Leeward federation would be dissolved and each island would enjoy the same measure of independence at present granted the Windwards. No public services would be united except the police and agricultural departments.

The Governor would form the sole contact with the British secretary for units of the new colony, and he would have full power to withhold assent to legislation. He would also be enabled to recommend legislation to the various island chambers and promulgate measures in case of emergency which would have the full force of law. The Governor would make frequent tours around the islands, but ■would not interfere in their local affairs.

The Commissioners noted that the strongest opponets of local self-Gov-ernment were found among Negroes.