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22
Mr. Moreton
21
Review of Emergency Legislation: Hong Kong
The attached minute by Mr. Carter, dated May 15th, sets out the
position very clearly; and I am grateful to him and the Department, and to Mr. Cruchley, for the work they have all put into this
question.
2. I have studied the minute with care; and given the special circumstances of Hong Kong I too support all Mr. Carter's
recommendations. But I feel some hesitation in approving this on my
own authority without any reference to Ministers since, while I am convinced that what Mr. Carter proposes is right, if there is any
criticism of the embodiment of these features in the Colony's permanent legislation it is probable that such criticism would be made in Parliament, and I think Ministers ought therefore to have an
opportunity of seeing in advance what it is that we and Hong Kong
propose.
3. As Lord Shepherd is so intimately involved in the affairs of Hong Kong and has taken a keen personal interest in the past in the question of emergency powers in the Colony I think it most desirable that he personally should see these papers. I suggest therefore that you should take this submission with you to Hong Kong at the end
of this week, and show it to Lord Shepherd; and subject to his
endorsement of our proposals I suggest you should use the draft
letter to the Governor and his advisers as a brief for the talks you
will be having with them.
4. On the substance of the point made in the draft letter, I take
it that the Legal Advisers' point would be met if, in the case of police officers, some such phrase were used as "acting in the course of his duty to prevent and detect crime"? If that is all that is involved I don't suppose Hong Kong would find this too restrictive for their purposes.
ANG.
(A.N. Galsworthy)
27th May, 1969