Against this historic background, and with our
own knowledge of the course of events in recent
years, I do not think that there can be any of us in
this Council who doubt the wisdom of de-federation.
But I am sure that historians and others in future
years will wish to search the archives of this
Honourable Council to ascertain the reasons for our
action. And so I hope that you will bear with me

fora moment while I list some of those reasons.

First—and perhaps foremost in our minds to-
day—must be the hope—and the belief—that the
momentous conference to be held in London next
month will at long last see the British Caribbean
Federation become a reality instead of just a dream
of the few. It has already been agreed that
Antigua, Montserrat and St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
should enter this new and wider Federation as

proud and equal partners with the other territories ©

of the British Caribbean. To this end it is clear
that they must each have the status of the other
partners, and that their legislative and governmental
processes should not be hampered by the existence
of a Federal Government and a Federal Legislature
of the Leeward Islands.

the recent introduction of the

Secondly,

Ministerial system in Antigua and St. Kitts-Nevis-_

Anguilla represents a major change in the method
of government in those territories—a change which
has entrusted the elected members to all intents and
purposes with control of their internal affairs. It
certainly would not accord with the responsibilities
and functions of the new Governments of these
territories if they were to find that in certain
respects their powers were arbitrarily limited by a
Federal Government of the Leeward Islands, which
at present can control legislation on certain subjects
and decide policy in certain fields. It is of course
a completely different matter for the Island
Governments to surrender certain of their powers
voluntarily to a Federal Government of the British
Caribbean—as no doubt they will do at the London
Conference.

 

Thirdly, I think that we can see for ourselves
that such progress as has been made in recent years
stems not from any policy of the Federal Govern-
ment, nor from any legislation passed by this
Council. The progress which has been made—and
I think that Honourable Members will agree that it
is considerable—is due to the initiative and the
work of the Island Governments and. Administra-
tions. In the nature of things, that must be so.
The problems, the needs, the outlook of the four
Presidencies are not the same in many important
fields; and a different approach is needed for each.
It is for this reason that the activities of this
Honourable Council: have been increasingly limited
to the passage of legislation of a technical nature
where uniformity is necessary or where uniformity
will not affect the day to day life of the four
individual territories.

I am sure that everyone will agree that the
Council has over the years performed valuable work
in this field of specialist legislation; but some of its
functions will, we hope, now be transferred to the

legislature of the British Caribbean, and the
expense of retaining a Federal Government and
Legislature of the Leeward Islands for such
specialist legislation as remains ceriainly could not

be justified.

May I interject here to say with deep regret
that little progress has hitherto been made with one
most important request made by this Council at an
earlier session—a request for the early revision of
of the Federal and Presidential Laws. Several
persons have been invited to undertake this task,
but so far no one has been willing todo so. As
each year passes it becomes more essential that
revision should be undertaken, and it is particularly
desirable that it should be undertaken at the time
of de-federation. I wish to discuss one or two
small points of preeedure with the new Federal
Executive Council after this meeting, and I then
hope that it may be possible to start the work
later this year.

I have mentioned three reasons why we have
come to the conclusion that de-federation is in the
interests of the people of the Leeward Islands—the
approach of British Caribbean Federation, the
introduction of responsible government in two of
the Presidencies, and the wide variation in the needs
and outlook of all four Presidencies. There are of
course other reasons which Honourable Members
may wish to mention. But | will venture to draw
attention to one further point myself. It is not of
itself a good reason for de-federation, but I hope
that it is likely to produce better results from
de-federation than is implied merely by the creation
of four separate and independent Colonies. I refer
to the fact that the existence of the Federal
Government has for some years past been an
irritant.

Although the four units of the Leeward
Islands must be free to tackle their internal problems
for themselves, there are certain elements which
are common to them all—simply because of their
size and their geographical proximity. They all
need specialist advice in certain fields, they all share
the same air, they are all surrounded by the same
sea, and they are all too small to be able to meet
their common needs on the same scale as larger
territories. There are, 1 believe, many things
which the four territories could have done together
in past years if it had not been for the existence of
an unpopular Federal Government. I must confess
that I look with some degree of envy to the
Windward Islands Broadcasting Service, and to an
admirable new production entitled the Windward
Islands Annual.

I would not wish Honourable Members to
think that I am now suggesting that we should
have a Leeward Islands Broadcasting Service, nor
that we should have a Leeward Islands Annual. |
Still less do I suggest that we should retrace our
footsteps and appoint a new breed of Federal
specialists under another name. But I do suggest
that there are certain fields where co-operation
within the Leeward Islands, as well as within the
British Caribbean, will be of value. And I do hope