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Federation needs public participation£jTX his first-broadcast stater \ j . went to the West Indies *t this week, the Frirae MinisterIS | tt • ' rI- j failed in his primary itask of• j giving,, as he said, a frank a •:■ op in ion of how the .Federal »r j.Government stands now that !d | the fim. .hurdle has., been I;! cleared/ .jj 1 . Most of what he said has . al been said already—and-is in'ef- .' j feet an expressten- o£ hopes ’ ■ .aod aspirations ’rather .than a • |2 ’clear statement-of the facts of '* Federation and the immediate 01 steps which he and ftis minis-\8 ter$ have taken or are. plan- . “ ni.bg to'take in pursuit:of the' prihiary goals-'of the Federal y* Government: .th* attraction of fc: - economic.- .assistance and'. the creation of regional conscious-5“ ness- . and -confidence in the., fact of Federal Government. ■le - * It would -be stupid, .of ir course, to expect that a • Gov-er ernment whlch:.eame into ex-u 1 ,.. is ten c e • in. April. could- -h a v« es. ' much of achievement to; show . m. In the period -between then and -of now; and, of course; the Govr r- emor-General's Thrdne Speech A- in opening . the first 'business rte' session - Of; the Federal. JParlia-u ’ ment -sets out tha broad lines along which the Government proposes- tq‘-proceed. But Sir p- j. Grantley • and his .Ministers iw /: have been in office for .three to months and the Prime-Minis-ch .ter at ,thlg- time should h^Ve ■ ad been , in a position to1 tell thede people of the W«st Indies just!of what preliminary'. steps have.ra beep staken in .the importantin task? which have been «n-ad trufeted to federal .-care, and-•what it is proposed to do in - the immediate future. ^ •There la Indeed need for * frank - opinion on how the- Federal • Government stands. It i«? vital . to the t« In re of the Fede ra-. lion, that the people of the . West Indies should be Invited to ah:almost day to day participation in and knowledge of the affairs of ihe Governhrent, despite the hmiutto** ptaoed[ upon #uph participation' andknowledge, bj parliamentary r; reticence and ministerial #*-erecy.4 . Otherwise, the Federal Gt»v-.' arnmenf will ’* it:naln te* a long ‘ . t|«ne a costly n#bnl#aity, perT ■ mare ' bVlghMy seen in1 - some artga of the Federation,» .;ut api to. keep fading from* a view of people in virtberareas. In, other words canstapt information on the facta of Federal - Government, . apart from tha roll, call of new appointment* to the Federal E s-Ubltaiwient, Is ,a vital. need, in-the formative years of the new naiion.We are-notpertain, 'also that, we 'know1 how the Federal Government-' . stands from (he vtewpiont of relationships with, the United Kingdom, and the Prime. Minister'6 speech did. frothing to clear up. a situ-; ation ip which . the West Indies is now being, treated. by the. United Kingdom ip a manner less . than that Jn which other . fledging dominions of the Commonwealth have been treated in :th* past in respectMr. Manley,, of course, speaks for all; Jamgtcans in all matters except one’— and that is: Federation^ His . party also can . claim tq.. speak for' the great majority of Jamaicans on its votihg./xe.tbrd m the past two local general, elections;Those arts.j .incontrovertible facts. .By* rather -Mr.; Manley nor his party can claim tospeak for Jamaica where Federal Relationship* »r*' concerned. The lkctjt show that the PNP was. decisively beaten iri the drst; Federal Elections and Mr. Mantel him#ef£’immediately afterwards put forward the proposition- that -the vote was an' anti-fede^sii vote n»? ther. than a Vote ei np-confl-period , which will be-spent in the 'iasfciot* of three weeks in Port of- Spain, one week in Jamaica. — for . of course Mr. Cergill has business and agricultural interests in bis homeland.The Trinidad Chronicle has peen on the skids for. some years now and was about to bow out of publication, leaving .the daily fieid .in Trinidad , tothe TrbiM^Ua Guatdian bnfv..IUP. interests in Trinidad, knd. aome in Jamaica as well^ 16 I. am tbld..have decided ihat'jt would be improper to leave 1 the Federal Capital serviced by /one newspaper only and have 'acquired inte-rests; In the puper in order to keep it goipg* 'and of course fe .spread their policy throughth« eountry.t Mr.;Cargill,, who delights in ’the name of a journalist, as •well as those of solicitor and farmer, has been asked to assist in' getting‘the newspaper going, to edit it and to run It. -and this he- has agreed to do'for one year. -• It Is likely that In this lie will have the assistanpe ofMr. patdd Nelson, formerly political correspondent of the Trinidad Guardian and Utterly practising politician, first, witih -the People's National Movement (whose constitution he helped to draw tip) and now.'’.with the Democratic Latoor Party whose ttfieuccessfnl candidate he was Jn the recent Federal Elections.The Trinidad Chronicle hashad a long, and- .interesting innings as a newspaper. H was long- regarded M the voice of Roman Catholicism in Trinidad,. but it- has lost ground Steadily in -Che last .sixteen years wijh the- growth of its young rival the Trinidad Guardian,Last year the; People's National Movement.proposed to buy the Chronicle and run it .as a party newspaper; The. ids a fell through, but; the Chronicle ■seamed destined tp be jmn for a political party, for »uW it will fall under this control of the DLP. . r •Besides being editor Of th# Chronicle. Mr. Cargill will become during -the year he will *p*:nd more. ‘®r inPert. Of1 Spain the princlpml . Uftlttn between the Jamalcen group of the Federal DLP and . the Tptnidad 1 grnop. of th*f«Utii DUt. dbnce In the local adraiplstra-. .tion .of the peopled National Farly. .. •. • . - -s Confrrattttetoty c*blts from Mr. Manley and the PNP to Sir Grantley Adam# carry.‘ With them no support from |h« general Khaw of tba J»-.-inalcan public, and indeed . »r« Contrary So tb«. general feeling of..- the people of this country. •Mil Is. quite easy • to claim. .. Tdistortiofi'', -.Most politicians .■do..so when- their statements . are viewed in a Tight, unfavourable to them. If Sir Grant-ley Adams had ' claimed., fhat .'Mr..Ken Hill., and Mr. Morris targiil had distorted his com-'Aientfl on Jamaica, and Jamal-; •£an • circumsfahceB, he may •• have bew oh’ good. . ground,. ■ but to clainj'that a newspaper •.' . .distorted charges1 made and-' Replies .given is to beg the. .'• description .6f/a .'.‘barefaced• ite” '.someibing completely. - - incompatible- ‘with.- the report; of : a.- statesman to the - nation• he has- the privilege w leading,Morris Cargill /. -' jytR;.'.: MOsJrIS: CAftGILL,' JYl M,P.,.-is goipg shortly., to' Trinidad to b^ome the manag-' fng; Editor ijif the Triftldrt• Chronicle, the one-time Port-.. •- of-Spain Gazette, oldest newspaper in the We?t Indies; ‘. ■' As I understand.it, Mr.-Car-• . gill be away [frprp Jamoica on■' this mission - for©n« • yf |r» ♦of representation at. Common^ wealth cbnlerencea. His -comment - on. Cbaguaramas •• has., taken the capital site issue no farther than. his. statement to the Federal Hoiiae of Repre-aeniatives on June 16.however’, the Prime..Mta-.. ister'r speech is taken as the.; beginning of .regular talks to the. W.wt Indies, .-y.WHs which will • become • more end. morp. informative-^! fc. was » cnm-mehdahle. one, atthough somewhat marred by the. adoption of the now traditiona* tactics of- West Thdten politicians .lo blame niwapaper* 4°i fheir AWn .mistglow- of expressionEnd action, Opposition mem* en accused S|r. Grantley Adams . of altacklnS Jamaica, This aceusatibh' and the PrimeMinister’s reply faithfully re?, ported becomes* in; Sir •Grant-ley’s 1 mind .'‘mallcioufl ■ dts-'. lortions' It ' is something to which we have become-accus* tomed/in 'Jamalci,-.' but we wpuld. ‘have hoped, that it would not have'been transplanted; at th* .'Federal level;It • - is always' easy .for the politician. with -ft -Chip on his shoulder .lo pick oir'hewspHpers ■when the tlawspapeis rewal -this chip to ' the public; and Sir Grflritl^y's’ ttfeourse1. to cortg i-a tu la tory cables. from th a Chief Minister..of Jamaica and the PNP Executive : as proof •sUfficfeht of the high'! standing he holds ia the: minds and.hearts uf the.Jamaican-peopleboi.aeri oh tha ludterous. ;*'
Newspaper Details
Kingston Gleaner
Kingston, Kingston, JM
Sun, Aug 10, 1958
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Ian R.
USA 06 Mar 2021
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