West Indian Reforms
Critics of the British Empire, not excluding friendly Americans, should note that in the middle of a great war this country has found time to introduce important reforms in colonial government, and has accepted financial sacrifices to promote the social welfare of colonial peoples. Last Tuesday came two pieces of news which mark significant' points in the history of the Colonial Empire. The first was political in character. The Colonial Secretary has offered a new political constitution for Jamaica, with an Assembly elected by adult suffrage, a nominated Legislative Council, and an Executive Committee of ten members pres;cled over by the Governor (five of them chosen by the House of Assembly). But important as political institutions will be in the future, with the promise of progress in self-government, still more urgent is the need for measures to deal with poverty, inadequate employment, housing, education and health, which profoundly affect the physical and moral stamina of the people. The Royal Commission of 1940 showed the pressing need of improved social services in the West Indies, and in consequence Sir Frank Stockdale was sent out as Comptroller for Development and Welfare, and money pro- vided by the British Treasury for a number of schemes which are already operating. Sir Frank Stockdale's report was published on Tuesday. He shows what form expenditure must 'take to cope with public health—houses, sanitation, medical facilities—with educa- tional needs, and with agriculture, which requires improvement of the soil and a changed system of production. Low standards of living and health' are the first evils to be overcome in the West Indies. British money is to be spent over a number of years, but on constructive schemes which will ultimately enable the islands to be more productive and self-supporting. We see in the West Indies the shaping of a policy resting on the responsibility of Great Britain for initiating and indeed paying for reforms, and putting first the interests of the colonial peoples.
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