From Mr E. Cachia

I refer to Dr Ragonesi’s letter entitled “The British Crown sought to kill nationalist aspirations” (TMIS 30 January).

He said that the British government suspended the 1921 Constitution because on taking office in 1932, the Nationalist government sent a delegation to London and requested Dominion Status for Malta.

I agree with what he said, however since World War II was already looming on the horizon, the British authorities sought a good excuse to suspend the Constitution.

This good excuse happened to be the Nationalist government’s approval of £5000 for the teaching of the Italian language. I also agree with Dr Ragonesi that education was not a reserved matter. Since my article of 23 January was about the Maltese Wartime Internees; what led to their internment and how they were treated, I did not go into detail why the Constitution had been suspended in 1933. However, I had to mention it to demonstrate how the British authorities dealt with the Maltese Nationalist ministers and what excuse they came up with to get rid of Self-Government.

It is also a known fact that the Nationalist government’s approval of £5,000 for the teaching of Italian, was a good opportunity for the British government to suspend the Constitution.

Enzo Cachia

MARSASCALA