77. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if his attention has been drawn to the official statements made by the Chief Minister of Trinidad and Tobago on 6th and 20th June, 1958, regarding the United States leased areas in Trinidad and the Chaguaramas Joint Commission Report; and if he will now make a further statement thereon.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe Chief Minister's statement of 6th June was in support of a motion that a conference be held to consider the report of the Chaguaramas Joint Commission.
As the House will recall, the Commission found that to move the base to the next best site would take at least 5½ years and cost some £47 million. Since they saw no possibility of entertaining such a proposition, H.M.G. have conveyed to the Governments of the West Indies and Trinidad their view that it would not 81W serve any useful purpose to convene a conference on the subject.
The statement of 20th June announced the Chief Minister's intention to set up a Committee to consider certain problems relating to the U.S. bases in Trinidad. I am informing the Governor that, particularly in view of the responsibility of H.M.G. for the external relations of Trinidad, I shall await with interest the result of the Committee's deliberations.