THE WEST INDIES: Queen's Representative

The British islands in the Lesser and Greater Antilles, now nearing the end of an evolution into a federation that will make them the hemisphere's 23rd nation, last week got a Governor General—the first symbol of their unity. In the rambling Legislative Council Chamber in Trinidad, the federation's capital, Britain's Lord Hailes, 56. took his oath of office before Trinidad's Chief Justice.

In the five years before the islands get dominion status (to be followed by independence), the Governor General, a figurehead in many Commonwealth nations, will have real power in the West Indies. A 45-member House of Representatives will...

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