THE EDITOR, Sir:

I write to protest the Rev. Devon Dick's article in Tuesday's Gleaner (May 22, 2007) headlined 'Britain still rules Jamaica'. For too long our intelligentsia have been misleading the public about our Government and especially the role of Her Majesty the Queen in our Government.

First, the U.S. news media continuously describe Elizabeth II as the 'Queen of England', when she ought to be described as 'the British Queen'. Elizabeth II is as much the Queen of Jamaica as she is the 'Queen of England', Queen of Australia, Queen of Canada, Queen of New Zealand, etc., etc.

The next irritation concerns the 'Judicial Committee of the Privy Council'. As its name implies, it is a subdivision of the Privy Council of the British Empire. Since the Privy Council of the British Empire (and the United Kingdom) is not a court of law, but the Royal Court, set up to advise the Queen when questions arise which concern the Empire as a whole and not its individual members, the JCPC cannot be described as a law court, much less Jamaica's highest law court (in the sense that the Supreme Court of the U.S.A. is its highest court of law).

Queen's legal adviser

It is far better to think of the JCPC as the Queen's legal adviser. This body dispenses expert legal advice and in our case advises on Jamaican law - not U.K. law. This advice is available only if the de facto independent head of the Jamaican judicial system. (i.e., our Chief Justice Mr. L. Wolfe) gives his permission for this advice to be sought. If the Jamaican people are not satisfied with the advice of the JCPC, the remedy is not to sever all ties with what is probably the source of the best legal advice possible, but t our laws to better suit ourselves, which is what our Members of Parliament are supposed to be doing!

The U.S.A., which Mr. Dick and others seem to think is Heaven on Earth, is a secular republic with a fundamental law they call their 'constitution'. The Constitution of Jamaica is merely the law which regulates the way the Government of Jamaica is supposed to conduct itself, just as the Road Traffic Law regulates the way people are supposed to drive on the road. By way of contrast, Jamaica is supposed to be a Christian kingdom. Our fundamental law is supposed to be Holy Scripture. Our Government is supposed to be trying to do His "will on Earth, as it is in Heaven", making the "rough places smooth" as the prophets described and NOT to enable us to "pursue happiness" as is the case in the U.S.A.

Politically independent

Jamaica is politically independent. This means that the Queen cannot say or do anything in Jamaica, unless Mrs. Simpson Miller et al advise her to say or do so. She (the Queen) failed to congratulate our athletes, as another journalist complained recently, because Portia did not tell her to do so. The Queen's function is to be the living equivalent of the U.S. constitution, and it is the duty of her representative, the Governor-General, to shout "Foul!" to the press and the Leader of the Opposition, if he thinks the Government is taking away our liberties, and becoming a tyranny.

The Queen is our queen by accident of history, or is the Lord's anointed, dependent on whether you are a non-Christian or Christian. Mr. Dick should remember the words of our Lord: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God, the things that are God's."

I am, etc.,

R.J. HOPKIN

Former Council Member

The Farquharson Institute of Public Affairs