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Almost everywhere else, Britain is letting its crown colonies move toward self-government, even independence, more quickly than it often thinks wise. But Britain turned back the clock last week on the island of Malta, site of the Royal Navy's main base in the Mediterranean. Unable to satisfy the voracious demands of the island's unpredictable, Oxford-educated former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff (who last year wanted to incorporate Malta into Britain itself, but now talks about making it a neutral port guaranteed by the U.N. Security Council), and unwilling to grant independence to the rock-bound island that must import nine times as much as it exports, the British suspended the 1947 constitution that allowed the 320,000 Maltese to elect their own representatives. Henceforth the British Governor will appoint his own council of advisers. Replied Mintoff: "Britain's days in the Mediterranean are numbered."

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