§ Mr. MITCHELL-THOMSONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the fact that in the official rules and regulations for His Majesty's Colonial Civil Service, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Bermuda are now referred to as being commonly known as Crown Colonies; whether, having regard to the fact that the Colonies in question have representative institutions, he will state when this change in the Colonial regulations was made; and whether he has received any representations from the Governors of the Colonies in question regarding it?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Harcourt)The Colonial Regulations were last revised in 1908. The first regulation clearly recognises the difference between various types of Colonies not possessing responsible Government, which it states are "commonly known as Crown Colonies." For the purposes of the Regulations it is necessary to have some expression embracing all the Colonies whose administration is carried on by public officers under the control of the Secretary of State, and at present I do not think that any more suitable phrase could be found. The matter will doubtless be considered at the next general revision of the Regulations in 1918. I have received no representations from the Governors of the Colonies in question.