Trappings of Nationhood

Taking two more strides towards practicing nationhood last week, the newly formed British West Indies federation got its first Governor General and chose a site for its capital.

The Governor General is Lord Hailes, 56, who was named a peer early this year after more than 25 years of minor fame as the most elegantly attired M.P. in the House of Commons. As Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, he served as Conservative Chief Whip from 1948 to 1955, was Minister of Works in Sir Anthony Eden's Cabinet. He dropped out, however, when Sir Anthony stepped down and Harold Macmillan took over. His appointment as Governor General did not meet with universal approval. The London Times pointed out that the position of first Governor General calls for a "man with some knowledge of conditions in the West Indies." Said the Times: "Whatever his other capabilities, Lord Hailes does not possess the deep familiarity with emergent countries which such a role demands."

In choosing the capital site on the island of Trinidad, a special committee spent more than two months touring the island, finally selected the inactive U.S. Naval Base on Chaguaramas Bay, eight miles from Port of Spain on the island's northwest tip. The site was one of the bases leased to the U.S. by Britain in 1940 in exchange for 50 vintage destroyers. Deactivated in 1955, the base has been carefully maintained. The existence of such readymade facilities was one of the base's most attractive points to the site-seekers. At week's end U.S. officials said they had not received any formal word of the choice or request for the base. Unofficially it appeared that there would be no great difficulty in obliging the young federation with its chosen capital site.

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