§ 45. Mr. W. Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement on his recent discussions with Dr. Cheddi Jagan of British Guiana.
§ 46. Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about his talks with Dr. Jagan, the Prime Minister of British Guiana.
§ Mr. GreenwoodI had a preliminary talk with Dr. Jagan on 22nd October and a longer meeting on 29th. The main subjects discussed were the electoral system and law and order. I told Dr. Jagan that it would not be possible to postpone102W the forthcoming election. We are, however, inviting a number of Commonwealth Governments to nominate members of a group of observers to watch and report to me on the conduct of the elections.
Dr.Jagan criticised the security forces, particularly the police. I said that I had confidence in the Security Forces and that without the good discipline which the police had shown during the disturbances this year the situation might have been very much worse. But it is a fact that Africans far outnumber Indians in the police force and that there is imbalance between the races in several other spheres as well, sometimes to the advantage of one race, sometimes to the advantage of the other. I am therefore making arrangements to send a study group to examine the problem and, where necessary, suggest remedies.