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Guiana British Independence 1962 Conference, Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty 1962 November LONDON HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE PRICE ls.

3d.

NET Cmnd.

1870 BRITISH GUIANA INDEPENDENCE CONFERENCE 1.

At the British Guiana Constitutional Conference in 1960, a constitution providing for full internal self-government was agreed and the principle of independence for British Guiana was accepted.

2.
2.

In August, 1961, the new constitution was brought into effect and a general election was held.

The People's Progressive Party (led by Dr. Cheddi Jagan) gained 42·6 per cent of the votes cast and 20 seats in the Legislative Assembly; the People's National Congress (led by Mr. Forbes Burnham) obtained 41 per oent of the votes and 11 seats ; and the United Force (led by Mr. Peter d'Aguiar) secured 16-4 per cent of the votes and 4 seats.
(Of the 35 seats, the People's Progressive Party did not contest six and the United Foroe did not contest one.)

3.

In November, 1961, the Legislature of British Guiana passed a Resolution calling on Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to grant independence to British Guiana.
On receipt of this Resolution, the Secretary of State for the Colonies informed Dr. Jagan of his willingness to hold a Conference for the purpose of settling the form of the Constitution and of fixing a date for independence.

4.

The Conference met in London at Lancaster House on 23rd October, 1962, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, It was attended by delegates from three political Mr. Duncan Sandys.

parties represented in the Legislative Assembly of British Guiana.
A list is attached at Annex A.

5.

The opening session was held in public.

Speeches were made by the Secretary of State and by the leaders of the three delegations, Dr. Jagan, Mr. Burnham and Mr. d'Aguiar.

The texts of their speeches are attached at Annex B.

Thereafter they made general statements setting out the positions of their respective parties.

These are reproduced at Annex C. 6.

Eighteen sessions of the Conference were held.

A number of con­ stitutional t)Oints were settled.


But it was found that no substantial progress could be made until decisions were reached on three major questions : (a) Should elections be fought on the basis of single-member constitu­ encies as at present or on the basis of proportional representation?

(b) Should the right to vote be accorded at the age of 21 as at present or at the age of 18?

(c) Should fresh elections be held before Independence?

7.
7.

The People's Progressive Party advocated single-member constituencies, voting at 18, and no elections before Independence.

The People's National Congress and the United Force asked for proportional representation, voting at 21, and fresh elections.

8.

These issues were exhaustively discussed, but no agreement could be reached.

32930 3 A2 9.

The Secretary of State informed the Conference that he had considered putting forward compromise proposals with a view to breaking the deadlock.
However, after exploratory talks with the three leaders, he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that there was no formula which appeared to offer any prospect of agreement.

10.

It was recognised that in the absence of agreement there were only two possible courses : (a) to leave the British Government to airbitrate on the questions at issue; or (b) to adjourn the Conference.

11.

The leaders of all three delegations stated that they were unwilling to agree to arbitration by the British Government.
Mr. Sandys, for his part, stated that, if they were not prepared to accept arbitration, he would not consider it appropriate at this stage to impose decisions against the wishes of the Government party which held a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly, or alternatively against the wishes of the Opposition parties which together had polled a majority of votes at the last election.

12.
12.

At a final session on 6th November 1962, it was agreed with regret that the Conference should be adjourned to allow for further discussions between the parties in British Guiana.

13.

In conclusion, the Secretary of State stressed that, since continued political uncertainty must inevitably prejudice the social and economic pro­ gress of the country, the present state of affairs must not be allowed to continue much longer.
If after an interval no agreed solution could be found, the British Government might have to consider imposing a settlement on their own authority so as to enable British Guiana to go forward to inde­ pendence.

But, since this would be a most unhappy way of launching the new nation, he urged the three leaders to make a further serious effort to reach agreement amongst themselves and assured them of his ireadiness to help in any way which they might consider useful.
Signed: DUNCAN SANDYS, Secretary of State for the Colonies L. F. S. BURNHAM, Leader of the People's National Congress Lancaster House, S.W.l.

6th November, 1962.
6th November, 1962.

CHEDDI ]AGAN, Leader of the People's Progressive Party P. S. d'AGUTAR, Leader of the United Force 4 ANNEX A LIST OF THOSE ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE Mr. Duncan Sandys, M.P., Secretary of State for the Colonies (Chairman) Mr. Nigel Fisher, M.P., Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Sir Hilton Poynton, Permanent Under-Secretary of State Mr. A. R. Thomas Mr. R. W. Piper Mr. N. B. J. Huijsman Sir Ralph Hone Mr. J.

A. Peck Legal Advisers Colonial Office } } .


Sir Ralph Grey, Governor of British Guiana Mr. M. Shahabuddeen, Dr. C. B. Jagan, Premier Mr. B. H. Benn, Minister of Natural Resources Dr. F. H. W. Ramsahoye, Attorney General Mr. Ashton Chase Mr. Moses Bhagwan Mr. J.B. G. Kelshall People's Progressive Party Mr. L. F. S. Burnham Mr. N. J. Bissember Mr. W. 0.
R. Kendall Mr. J. Carter Mr. E. F. Correia Mr. C. A. Merriman Mr. H. M. E. Cholmondeley People's National Congress Mr. P. S. D' Aguiar Mr. R. E. Cheeks Mr. S. Campbell Mr. L. A. Luckhoo United Force Miss M. A. Jardim Mr. J. E. de Freitas Mr. R. M. Delph Mr. W. M. Knighton, Mr. R. S. Allison Mr. B. M. Norbury Mjss J. M. Catchpole } s",etadat 5 ANNEX B Speech by Mr. Duncan Sandys, Secretary of State for the Colonies SPEECHFS AT OPENING SFSSION " Gentlemen : I would like to welcome you very warmly on behalf of the British Government at this opening session of ,the British Guiana Independence Conference.
At the last Conference, held here in 1960, it was agreed that as the next step in constitutional a.dvance British Guiana should be granted fuJI internal self­ government; and ,that after an interval a further Conference should be convened to discuss the final preparation for mdependence.
Owing to the unhappy everus of last February, it was unfortunately not possible to hold this Conference as early as we had planned; ibut the time has, I believe, not been altogetlher wasted, since the delay has .prov.ided an opportunity for furither discussions and consultations which have helped to clarify the issues involved.

Following the paith of other !British Colonies, British Guiana is now approach­ ing the end of the coJoruial stage.
This Conference will have to settle a number of questions of great importance ro 1lhe progress and stability of your country in the years a!head.

lit as not enough merely ito make administrative arrangements for independence.

Our aim must be nothing less than ito establish sound and solid foundations upon which the people of British Guiana can build a happy, prosperous and united nation.

I wish rthe Conference every success Jn this vital task."
Speech by Dr. Jagan, Premier and Leader of People's Progremve Party "Secretary of State, Your Excellency, gentlemen: Once again we meet to consider what course the political development of British Guiana shall take.

Once again we \have 'been !I"eceived with the warm welcome which we have learned to expect.

For this, Sir, please accept our thanks.

May I also express thanks to Her Majesty's Government for the very efficient arrangements which have been made for OUT com.fort and convenience.
This Conference tis the culmination of a long series of events.

A quick glance at this series may, perhaps, be of use now to set our problem m perspective.

In June 1958 the Legislative Council of British Guiana passed a Resolution requesting that British Guiana -should become an independent state within the Commonwealth.
A Constitul!ion Committee, made up of all ithe elected and nominated Members of the Legislative Council, examined this question and set out the views of all sections of opinion at great kngth.

The request for mdependence followed on a majority decision by that Committee.

The Committee went further, and by majority vote suggested that the British Guiana Constitution should provide for a form of government paittemed after ,the Briliish parJ.ia.mentary system.
Following on this request, !tfhe Constitutional Conference of March 1960 was held.

At It.his Conference I pressed strongly for .immediate independence within the Commoniwea�th.

We did not th.en suoceed in this.

Yet, from our poinJt of view, the Conference was not a loss, for it was there stated that the principle of independence for British Guiana was accepted by Her Majesty's Government.

Since 1this last Conference �he political map of l!he world has changed very significantly.
The pace of advance from dependent to independent status has been rapid.

Almost the whole of British Colonial Africa has become free and sovereign.

In our area, our neighbours Trinidad and Jamaica have become inde­ pendent, sovereign states.

In Guiana independence was the major issue at the August 1961 elections.

The opposition par;ties in appealing to the eleotorate made it clear that whichever party won itbe elections would be leading the country to independence.
One of these parties actually suggested May 3 ls.t, 1962, as independence date.

6 \ ..

It was in ,this spir�t ,that, in November, 1961, shontly after the formation of my Government under the 1960 Corualiitution, a resolution was introduced and passed jn both Houses requesting Her Majesty's Govemment to graD1t us independence in 1962.

Our right 'to independence has already been conceded, as I have remarked, by Her Majesty's Government.
Now that this conference has been called, the question therefore before us is the transfer of residual powers from Her Majesty's Government to the Governme.nit of British Guiana and the fixing of a date for independence.

I submit, Sir, that the struggie for power between various political factions at home should not properly form part of the deliberaltions of this conference.

Rather, my Govennment conceives tlhis to be a domestic maitter Ito be hammered out at ho.me.
This does not mean that I consider this conference merely a formality.

My Government has submitted, on the request of Her Majesty's Government, It.he draft of the Constitution for an independent Guiana.

In the preparation of this document, deep consideration was given to our needs and national aspirations and to the fundamemal principles underlying ltlhe constitutions of other countries within the British Commonwealth.
A perusal of our draft constitution will show (!bat it is based on lllhe following principles.

Firstly, free regular elections at stated intervals on the basis of universal aclJuLt suffrage ; secondly, the provision of safe�ards for individuals, minorities and political !Panties by the entrenahment of fundamental rights ; thirdly, an independenJt judiciary ,to which all may thave access; fourthly, the avoidance of any divisive measures which may tend to weaken the nation.
We have, however, remembered that while the constitution must provide safe­ guards for individuals, for minorities and for opposition parties, it must also make it possible for our freely elected government to govern.

It has been said that a government which is elected and takes power must be in command of the affairs of the nation and must be able to meet its problems and responsibilities.

With this fundamental concept we are in entire agreement.
The dilemma of private individual rights versus public interest, which has long plagued political theorists, has also exercised the minds of our constitution framers.

We consider it essential that if we are to make progress in an orderly way we should have the right type of constitution and the right political atmosphere.
This is why we have taken the lead in sponsoring a fundamental rights section in our constitu­ tion, although we realise that this might provide too rigid a framework and might possibly impinge upon the sovereignty of the people.

It has been often demon­ strated that a constitution which does not provide for strong and stable govern­ ment is bound to fail.

Over the past several decades the principles and practices of parliamentary democracy have been progressively abandoned by country after country.
Not the least of the factors causing this disturbing trend has been the tendency in many countries to abandon the old well-proven electoral methods for new-fangled ideas which seem in theory to offer great advantages.

But these advantages which in theory may seem desirable are always bought at great price of stability.
Time and again attempts to attain these doubtful advantages have resulted in govern­ ments so weak as to cause, eventually, a revulsion on the part of the electorate, a revulsion which has led to their abandoning the idea of popular government in its erutirety and substituting various forms of authoritarian government which they felt would give the effective government their countries required.
Political theoriticians draw from these facts the valid conclusion that the primary desire of peoples is for effective and stable governments.

1 think, Sir, that I have said enough to indicate the lines along which we are thinking and we have been thinking.

The Guiana people have for many years been yearning for their freedom.

We, the British Guiana delegation, are agreed on this-that only independence will provide the dynamic necessary to lift our people and to weld them into nationhood.
To this great aim, we from Guiana have pledged ourselves, and for this great aim we ask your aid and assistance and your help."

7 Speech by Mr. Burnham, Leader of People's National Congress "Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for your kind welcome, and thank you also for indicating at least by implication that the question of independence at this conference is not really in issue.

I think we are all agreed that our beloved Guiana is entitled to independence and to be free.
Without independence those for whom I properly speak feel the best energies of the people cannot be harnessed in the interests of the country.

The success of this conference, for which we fondly hope, will mean that we shall have to say goodbye to you, Mr. Chairman; though I am not suggesting that you will not be the Minister for Commonwealth Affairs when Guiana joins the Commonwealth as an independent nation.
But after all that is said and done, Sir, we have got to draft a constitution, and independence does not mean a mere transfer of power.

The constitution must be a book of rules, must be a document which reflects the political realities in which we shall have to operate.

We must have a constitution which will assure all the Guianese that their rights will not be trampled upon, even by majorities.
A constitution is not a docu­ ment from which we can hope to gain some cheap political victory ; it is something that must be cognisant of the present and anticipatory of the future developments of the country.

We in Guiana do have problems, present and _future.

It is not for us to behave like ostriches and hide our head in the sands.
We are not only a country of many waters, but a country of many peoples, and unless and until those many peoples are welded together into one unified whole independence to me would be a mere mockery.

There are large divergencies of opinions amongst the people of Guiana.
I do not propose at this stage to canvass the point of view of the political party which I lead, but this I say: that in the drafting of our constitution the approach of the People's National Congress is to take account of the various groups' attitudes and opinions so that we may leave this conference, if it is successful as I hope it will be, assured and satisfied that we have done our best by the people of Guiana.
I do not propose either to enter into the controversy as to what makes a strong government or what makes a weak.

I do not think that there is inherent in any system the result of strength or weakness of a government.

I shall not indulge in damnable equivocation in quoting scripture to suit my particular purpose.
I shall be satisfied if during the course of this conference there is that atmosphere of give and take, that spirit of compromise-although may I say there are certain principles on which we will not compromise-I shall be satisfied if at the end of this conference we can look back at the fact that there bas been a spirit of harmony, compromise and, where necessary, willingness to consult the wishes of the people for whom we claim to speak ; if at the end of this conference we leave behind the impression that we have worked hard, we have laboured, we have toiled, and not like the mountain brought forth a mouse."
Speech by Mr. D' Aguiar, Leader of United Force "Mr. Secretary of State, Your Excellency, gentlemen: I also on behalf of my party would like to thank you for your very kind hospitality to us.

Today, Sir, we come to you to seek independence, not betrayal.

My party wants independence just as much as it appears you are anxious to give it.

Your Government, Sir, regards colonies today as nuisances and is anxious and willing to rid hemelf of i!lhese liabilities.
We on ,the other ha.nd have no wish to continue to remain in whart: you referred to as a colonial stage.

By i'!s very nature this must be a transient stage.

But, Sir-and I repeait but-,we charge Her Majesty's Government not to be unmindful of their obligations and trusteeship.
Indeed we demand that they provide certain vital safeguards, safeguards which are necessary to ensure two things: first that the people should determine who should govern i!ihem under indeipendence-mhat is, that there should be new elections before independence; and second 11hat tibe will of the people be .truly reflected in •the composition of Parliamem-ithlllt is, that 1there be proportional representation.
8 / We, Sir, the delegates at this Conference, are all sons and daughters of / unn:igrants w our country, all of us save one, a delegate ,th.alt I am proud to say is a member of my party's delegation, an elected member of the Legislature.

Mr. Stephen Campbell, wiho is an Amerindian, tllbat is, one of the original inhabitanits of Guiana.

When our country was first discovered his people were there and there were as many of them !there then as there are in the country wday.
They lived then as they live now and without knowledge of.

the �eaohings of Rousseau and Karl Marx they lived a simple communal life.

The wide savannabs of our country were their home.

In its great rivers they fished ; in its dark forests they hllllJled.

For them it has aLways been free.

Since illhe colonisa­ tion llheir freedom has been proitected by Her Majesty's Government.
These people acoept llhe discipline of their own elected chiefs in their own communaJ villages, but they will not acx:e,pt discipline imposed upon them by a Commissar.

lit is my pallty, Sir, thaJt has the honour to represent these people, and it is my/ patty, Sir, llhat seeks not to establish •their freedom but to prmect it.
/ I repeait, Sir, my ,party seeks independence, but it is essential thait the minorities whom I represent now should be guaranteed for ever representation in proportion to their total numbers.

My party advocates new elections, with proportional representation before the elections.
My party accepts the principle that the ri�t to govern derives from the consent of It.hose governed, and under this principle Dr. Jagan's party won ,the consen,t of the people of Guiana ,to rule according to a constitllltion published before the elections.

He does not have now, and cannot have, the consent of lthe people to change thait consitiitution.
The vital change in the constitution from self-governmerut w independence requires a mandate from the people, and that mandate can only come now by new elections.

That is what can provide wihait you, Sir, referred to as ,the sound and solid foundation of a new government.

For a father, Sir, to cut off his son with a shilling is not to make him independent ; it is to disinherit him.
We want independence for Guiana, not disinheritance, and in order to consider independence it will be necCS6ary to consider the finances of the courutry.

I accuse Dr. Jagan's Government of bankrupting the country with wasteful and I accuse his Government of attempting to redeem the partisan expenditure.

situation by malicious and excessive taxation.


I do not believe that the people of England would aocept a budget increase in taxes equal to £1,000 million, but tha,t is the equivalent of the budget increase which took place in British Guiana in February last ; and fiunlihermore the budget reduced the incidence of income tt:ax from 34 per cen,t.

oif !the total revenue to 29½ .per cent.

and increased con­ sumption taxes from 49 per cent.

to 52 per cent.
to 52 per cent.

I do not believe that any free society would stand for this.

Finally, Sir, I must refer to the Communist threat.

This day and this date is pregnant with significance---,the 23rd October.

It is the anniversary of the people's revolution in Hungary, �e day when men and women in �e cause of freedom fought with bheir bare bands against tanks and armoured cars.

Is our memory so shont as w forget this?

Today British tr-Oops are in British Guiana.

Why?

Is it going to be a shotgun wedding?


Are the people to be forced by British bayonets to submit to the ceremony of imposing Dr. Jagan's Government upon them?

Today, Sir, the world witnesses 11lhe Red takeover of Cuba, the Red aggression against India.

Must it witness also the Red acquisition of Guiana?

Are we to be the Latin-American Munich?

Let us face facts, Sir.


Our Jand of Guiana is being sold out Ito Russia, and of this I have proof here which I am ready to make available, proof of large sums of money pouring in from Moscow to Dr. Jagan's parity.

Russia knows what she waruts and s.be is getting it, but I would not accept that Her Majesty's Government should be an accessory.

Britain would be inculpated in that betrayal if she were to grant us independence wit!hout new elections and without propontional represeD!tation.
History, morality, justice cry l-0ud-independence, yes, but with the true /7 consent of tlhe people by new elections and with proportional representation:' � · 9 ANNEX C POLICY STATEMENTS BY LEADERS OF DELEGATIONS Statement by Dr. Jagan "Following llhe last Constitutional Conference held in 1960 and the general elections in August 1961 I, on behalf of the Government, presented a motion to the Legislature in November 1961 calling for independence for British Guiana.
The motion was passed in both Houses of the Legislature, and this motion reques,ted Her Majesty's Government tto gralllt British Guiana independence in l 962.

My Government in keeping wit:ih the principles of parliamentary democracy have at all times wherever practicable sougih't to consult the Opposition.

This was done as pant of the steps preparatory 1to independence.

The Opposition was invited both in and out of the Legislature to discuss proposals for independence.
From the ,time Her Majesty's Government first announced It.he date of an Indepen­ dence Conference attempts were made to secure the co-operation of the Opposition parties by referring 1the mal!ter to legislative committees of various sorts, from a full committee of /t1he whole House tto a small committee of equal representation for Government and lthe Opposition under the chairmanship of the Speaker without a casting vote.
Unfontunately !the Qpposition parties failed to co-operate in agreeing to any of these suggested committees.

The Govennment then, tthrougb tlle Aitltorney General, formulatt.ed a draft inco.rpora.nng the basic principles hammered out at the last Constitutional Con­ ference and such suggestions as had 1been ma.de in it.he Legisla.tive Assembly during the debate in November 1961, and also ttaking intto considerattion suggestions that have been made by the public.
This draft was presented in order to provide a basis for discussion.

I wish to ern,phasise thaJt: there was never aniy intention to force this draft constitution on the Opposition, as has been suggested.

The principles of parliamentary government and 11he extent of recognition of the rig:h.ts of the State and of the ,individual are reflected in ithe proposals put fo�ward by the Government in the draft constitution.
They in effect continue, with minor exceptions in a few cases, the present system of government.

The provisions /therein contained provide for the retention of bhe existing system and method of representation, whereby ltibe country returns members of ,11he legislature from single member constituencies on itlhe basis of the first past the post system of election.

They also provide for a S)"Sitem of regular elections after four years for members of the National Assembly.
Subject to the constitution it is proposed that a government eleoted on the system proposed should exercise the legislative and executive powers and ,l!bat these should inolude powers over defence and eJCternal affairs, the latter being ,the ttwo areas of government over which our Government now has no control.
Lt is proposed ltihat, with minor exceptions, control over the appointment, !Promotion and discipline of the public and police services should be in the hands of impa!1tial commissions appointed on the advice of tihe Prime Minister ifrom among persons who are not active ,politicians.

Toe Govern­ ment recognises ,the need for an impartial judiciary of the highest quality to enforce the constitutional guarantees which are proposed in the new constitution.
It is proposed also that certain clauses of the constitution, including those relating to regular elections, fundamental rights, the judiciary, and the !Public and police services, &hould be entrenched and should ,be made unalterable except upon tihe vote of itwo-lt:hirds of /the membership of It.he legislature or by a majority of the electorate voting upon a referendum.
The Government's draft was published and tabled in the Legislature despite objection from tihe Opposition, and the public was reminded of my earlier ,invita­ tion to submit memoranda.

I wish Ito say llhat 127 memoranda were received from individuals and various bodies, of whioh 28 came from various groups of the People's Progressive Pa11ty.

Tihe Government then convened a conference to which it invited ,those persons and organisations which had submitted memo­ randa.
82 delegaitions attended this conference, including representatives from the 10 Co-operative Societies, social and religious organisations, local authorities, trade unions, 1the Junior Ohamber of Commerce, the Sugar Producers' Association, and a local group of com,panies.

No memorandum was received from the main opposition party, the People's National Congress.
The United Force submitted their memorandum but declined an invitation to attend ,the conference on the ground rthalt tlhe draft under discussion was not in fact a Government paper but a pancy document.

There was a,t this conference null and frank discussion of wthich detailed notes were kept.

These notes have been sent ito you, Sir, and I suppose they wm be made available to the Conference.
It is interesting to note rthat such cr�ticisms as ,there were related to matters of detail and not to questions of principle ; in particular no one requested an alteration of the elect-Oral system �ich we, like so many of Her Majesty's territ-0ries, have iniherited and with which our people are familiar.

I and my Government, welcome 1the 5ipirit of oom,promise eXcpressed ,this morning and hope that agreement will be reached at rthis Conference with reasonable despatch."
Statement by Mr. Burnham "Mr. Chairman, Sir: So far as the People's National Congress is concerned we take this Conference very seriously and we certainly do not feel that this is a time for pleasantries or repetition of being wedded to certain democratic principles.

This attaoh.menit to democratic principles has got 110 be expressed in the constitution.
The constitution which we are about to discuss, and a draft of which we hope will come out at this Conference, must be not a dead document, n-0t a paper and scissors exercise copied fr<>m one constitution or another and introducing certain provisions which have neither relevancy nor meaning in the context of Guiana.

As I had reason to remark earlier, the con­ sti,tution which we hope to fashion must be one which recognises the hard, ithe stark, pol�tical realities of our country of Guiana.
Now, I digress for a moment to say that we have the highest regard and admiration for mhe British system, but Britain is Britain and Guiana is Guiana.

Our constitution must recognise the fact of the division of political power in our country.

It must recognise the fears, even if in some cases it may be suggested that those fears are unwarranted, the fears of minorities in our com­ munity.
And some system must be found to get over, to solve, the difficulties inherent in our community and to bring together the various political and racial groups as one nation of Guiana.

I do not propose to enter into an historical survey of the events subsequent to the 1st November, 1961, and the various attempts to form committees of the House.

I shall content myself with saying that the P.N.C.


never considered these attempts to be sincere in the context of a government that enjoys a minority of popular support, and which to our mind thought that governing and dictating were synonymous terms.

The People's National Congress have since 1959 proposed that the electoral system should be proportional representation.
For us proportional representation is not a gimmick, it is not a gambit by which we hope merely to win or to remove from office one party or another.

It is to our mind a system which will give an opportunity to the peoples of Guiana to recognise the need for co-opera­ tion at the very highest, that is the legislative, level.

We in the People's National Congress have absolutely no quarrel with the British for keeping their system of first past the post.
The British have their rules of cricket, but unfortunately we have got to formulate our own rules, recog­ nising the facts of Guiana.

For instance, arrangements behind the Speaker's Chair which form part of the British tradition are unknown in Guiana, in spite of asseverations to the contrary.

Consultations with the Opposition are the exception rather· than the rule and are indulged in under severe pressure and when there is no alternative.
It is therefore necessary, as we see it, to embody such provisions in the con­ stitution as will give legal status to things like arrangements behind the Speaker's 11 Chair.

We are aware of the fact that if the system of proportional representation which is entirely -:onstitutional were to be adopted, that at this particular moment it is hardly foreseeable that any one party would gain an over-all majority of seats.
But unless the political leaders of Guiana are particularly opaque and obtuse that fact would force upon them the necessity of co-operation and a recognition of the fact that political power is fairly evenly distributed in our country.

For us proportional representation is a means of tackling the problems of our country ; it is a means of ensuring co-operation.

We are neither intrigued nor impressed by the facile argument that proportional .representation is conducive to multiplicity of political parties.
It is our conviction from a careful study of other territorfes, other countries, other nations, that a multiplicity of parties is an expression of existing fissiparous tendencies in a given community, and propor­ tional representation merely gives further expression to certain of these fissiparous tendencies.

Neither are we convinced by the argument that proportional representation leads to weak government.
At the moment in Guiana we have a weak Govern­ ment which was elected by an overwhelming majority of seats and a minority of Jo Tasmania there is proportional repre­ votes on the first past the post system.

sellltaition and I do not recognise any weakness.

We feel also that the voting age should remain as at the present, 21, and are hardly even intrigued by the transparent attempt by some to gain a temporary electoral advantage by proposing that that age be reduced to 18.
In parenthesis almost I would say it is interesting, if not amusing, to note that those who suggest 18 were so confused in their draft that only at the point where the voting age was concerned was 18 used as the test of adulthood.

We have beard with great interest today that our major political opponents believe in Service Commissions for the judiciary, the public service and the police that are impartial and are appointed from amongst persons who are not politicians.
"there is a certain humour in that protestation ; those of us who are from Guiana know otherwise.

Therefore, our proposal with respect to the Service Commis­ sions, whether Judicial, Public or Police, is that the Opposition and the Govern­ ment be given the legal right to appoint the same number of persons to these Com­ missions.
A non-political being in Guiana is almost a prehistoric animal, and no matter how hard a government may strive to appoint persons to these Com­ missions who are non-political their efforts are always met with failure.

I shall be charitable and say that in the present case of our Public Service Com­ missions our present Government made a valiant effort but did not succeed in keeping from those lists of appointees well-known activists from its party.
Therefore Jet us be realistic, and let us have on these Commissions persons appointed by political parties in equal numbers, and in process of time these members of the Commission will recognise that neither side can have the advan­ tage : they will learn what is the thing called compromise and I think in a very short time will place the emphasis on merit and ability rather than political affiliations.

That is the sort of proposal the P.N.C.


adopts, a realistic one, and no one from British Guiana, unless he wants to speak with his tongue in his cheek, can suggest that you can find one person of any ability to serve on these Commissions who has not got clear and definite political affiliations.

Therefore, let us grasp that fact, and let us in that context attempt to get a Commission which is not biased in favour of one political party or another.
I am happy to bear that our Premier is interested in the independence of the judiciary ; J should hope that the President of the Senate is similarly interested ; but the P.N.C.

is also interested and very interested in the independence of the judiciary, and during the course of this Conference proposals or suggestions will be put forward that ensure the absolute independence of the judiciary.
But if there is to be the rule of law, more than an independent judiciary is necessary; there must also be a strong and independent bar and a fearless bar, and to that end, for instance, it is amongst our proposals that recognition be given to the Bar Association of Guiana for appointments to certain authorities and/or institutions to be referred to in the cQnstitution.
12 The People's National Congress, Sir, judging from past experience-not that it expects to lose the next election, in fact it is sure that it will win-feels that the distribution of political power in the community should be expressed in terms of a definite status for the Leader of the Opposition ; a leader of the Opposition who is not only consulted but who has certain powers with respect to questions like emergency, declaration of war and the recruitment of the armed forces.

What the P.N.C.
What the P.N.C.

will not accept from the present government with respect to the 1ecruitment of an army with political overtones, it does not expect its opponents to accept ,llhis if and when P.N.C.

comes to govern ; and ,the only way the other political forces in the country, whielh are substantial, cain be saitisfied thait llhey have a share, is to give legat expression ito that share whiob it is intended ,to give them.
The Leader of the Opposition for us will not be merely a member of tile legis­ lature who leads the largest oppo&ition party, but one 'Mho speaks for a large section of the community, one who represents die attibudes of a Jarge political section of the country who, to put it briefly, on certain important matters should have a veto.

There can be no suggestion of nove1ty in this, and eve.a if there were that would not for one moment prevent us fu-om further pressing the point.
We have Cyprus, for instance, where the vice-ipresident ihas certain powers of veto in fact.

It is not our view that this would interfere with ilie smooth running of government by any means.

What it will do is to impress upon the particular government of ttie day 1lhe .fact thait ,there are other people in the community apart from the su,pport.ers of the governing party, most necessary in the tense if not inflammable situation now extant in Guiana.
There should be entrenchment, so far as the People's National Congress feels.

Our proposal for entrenchment is that certai1_1.

clauses that allude to elections to the House and certain fundamental rights, the judiciary of course, should be entrenched with 66½ per cent.

and vote on a referendum to the electorate.

We have heard from the major political party-that is not the P.N.C.-tbat they subscribe to these jdeas and ideals.

What therefore is the difficulty about entrench­ ing these clauses?
If we are ad idem on them then entrenchment is a mere formality, in our case a needed formality.

We have, for instance, been regaled by the P.P.P.

with references to their devotion to regular elections, yet we have waited eleven months for a bye-election.

Mr. Chairman, soft words and sweet phrases in this context achieve nothing.
Let us uncover the skeleton in the cup­ board and see whether at this conference table in a spirit of compromise on certain questions and with an attitude of being willing to accept the realities we can clothe the skeleton to the advantage of Guiana.

Unless there is a constitution llha.t is generally wceptable by a majority we will have achieved very little, for in tbe final analysis constitutions and govern­ ments are de�ndent upon a modicum of consensus.
We have not come here hoping by tricks or being suave to get a constitution which we want ; we have come here to get a consti,tution \Wlidh will be acceptable to the majority of the people, whioh will remove fears and doubts which !have been abroad for the last year.

We are not interested in hypocrisies-such as a meeting at Queen's College where there were alleged to have been so many bodies culled from the same political party.
That is a good political trick which all political parties indulge in, getting front organisations to put forward your ideas.

We must be sincere if we want to tackle the problems inherent in the drafting of a constitution ; we must be truthful, we must be frank ; otherwise any constitution will have been built upon sinking sand and we will have wasted our time.

The People's National Congress comes into this conference wanting indepen­ dence sincerely and deeply.
We are not happy at the faot that however nice and kind the British might have been, our people should still be colonials.

We want to be citizens ,of an independent country, but the independence whioh we want must also mean freedom and democracy, it must mean not only political demo­ cracy but social democracy, and neither can be achieved unless the majority of people find the constitution acceptable.

Military solutions for political problems are not a way out.
The only way out is co-operation and understanding between tLe people of Guiana, and co-operation does not mean dictation.

So frequently 13 we hear people talking about co--0peration, and when you discuss w1th them the meaning of co-operation you find they understand co--0peration to mean every­ thing 'tlhey say or mean.
The attitudes and ideas of the People's Congress will become more obvious as we function in the various committees, and in any case we· do n-0t propose to argue or refer to certain weaknesses and faults any further at this meeting.
I would say finally that for ,us in the People's National Congress it is l!he people of Guiana who must decide, it is t·he people of Guiana who have got to make !iheir future, and tihait is why pel1haip5 .the People's National Congress suggests that tihis conference should have been held in Guiana, but ,tJhaJt is something which has n-0t been achieved.
We look forward ,to the success of this conference, and we feel that success can be achieved with frankness, n-0 pulling of punches, no unnecessary courtesies-mhis is not the opening session�let us be brutal, let us be truthful, and I believe we can succeed."
Statement by Mr. D' Aguiar " Mr. Chairman, Dr. Jagan menitioned the principles of parliamentary demo­ ciiaoy, and ithe [POSition of the United Force on 1Jhis question of immediate independence is derived from ,the basic principle of democracy as we see it, and that basic principle is that lthe right t-0 govern derives from the consent of the people, and the consent of the people is normally expressed in free elections.
We appreciate ,that Dr. Jagan won the consent of the people in the last elections, but he won 1the consent of :the people to govern according to a constitution of self-government which was made public before the election.

Jt is itrue tlhat all three pa.mies during the course of the election s,tated ,that they were in favour of independence, but it is lllOt 'true to state as Dr. Jagan did 11his morning that the 1961 election was fought on the basis of immediate indepen<lence.
It was fought on the Jbasis -0f a constitution of self-government.

No single party won an overall majority like Dr. Eric Williams did in Trinidad, and therefore it is a matter of principle for us 1hait a minority panty should not have rhe right to change a constitution vitally without getting a fu.u:ither mandate from the people.

Our basic stand is the demand for new elections before there is a new constitution.
Now this morning Dr. Jagan s,taited that the was opposed to new-fangled, as he !termed it, constitutional systems ; but Sir, we subm�t tha,t J>roportional repre­ sentation is not a new-fangled system.

It has been in use for more tlhan 100 years.

It .is the system favoured by more than tw-0-thirds of the world's modem demo­ cracies.
In fact the first past the post system only now exists in 'lhe form 1Jhat Dr. Jagan advocates in five countries of the world, one -0f which is South Africa, the home of apartheid.

In fact Dr. !Malan won ,tJhe 1948 election with fewer votes 'than his opponents, and 'this enaibled him to introduce dictatorial met!hods.

The system of proportional representation, as we see it, has proved itself historically.
Racial and religious differences are and always have been potential threats to national runity and to local haliIDony, ,but the system of proportional representation as it has been practised specifi.caHy in Switzerland and in Belgium has been a means of overooming racial tensions and producing a firm, strong and stable government.
We believe that if tihis system were introduced into British Guiana with its multi-racial and multi-religious communities it would be the means of easing racial and religious tensions and creating harmony.

We, Sir, therefore make the basis of our claim at this Conference new elections under a system of propontional representation.

We realise that no cons.titution can ever be written to protect the people from its aibuse by any form of totalitarianism.
But we have attempted ait least to dra.1it a constitution which endeavours to give protection to the people as far as is possible from abuses.

We feel that Dr. Jagan's Government has not demonstrated its so-called belief in consultaition witih tihe opposition and in const�tutional traditional practices.
In fact the House of Assembly 'has already demonstiiated it has little regard for constitutional regularities and no regard whatever for the .c.pirit of the constitution, and this could be illustrated by examples.

14 The constitution that we have submitted is of course a draft and is open to In fact it is our belief that whatever constitution is officially amendment.
accepted, the people of Guiana ought to be given the opportunity to express their opinions on it as fully as possible before it becomes operative.

We are particularly concerned to ensure the independence of the administration of justice by adequate provisions which will be entrenched.
Dr. Jagan's constitution provides for the control of the adrninisitration of justice by itlhe executive: and neither in the existing constitution nor in Dr. Jagan's proposed oonstitution is the right to exercise the vote guaranteed or even e�ressly provided for.

We, of course, have done this.

In general, Sir, we have examined constitutions of almost every country and we have sought to incorporate llhose features whiah will as far ras possible minimise abuse.
We have also attempted to ensure that the administra.tion of defence and security forces be impartial and to provide for a truly independent Civil Service.

So, Sir, basically our stand is simply this: a new constitution, but elections before it is adopted and voting under a system of proportional representation.

We do not suppont the idea of voting a,t the age of 18.

In fact in our opinion this is a new-fangled system hardly known except in some Communist countries.
We prefer here It.he generally known system of voting at the majority age of 21 :· (32930) Wt.

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