CONFIDENT IAL
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(a) There would be a Secretary to Government, who
would co-ordinate the work of the various
Permanent Secretaries, who would be Secretary of the Executive Council and who would work to the Deputy Governor, but would have a separate office. I have managed to find a circular on the "Member System" in Malaya that I myself issued as Secretary to Government in 1954,
enclosure (1) in Colonial Office file FED 17/1/02). This might be useful to us later in working out the details of any new arrangements for Hong Kong that may be approved.
(e) Executive Council would sit under the chairman-
ship of the Governor and would consist of the Deputy Governor, the Commander British Forces, the Attorney General and the Financial Secretary, and all Permanent Secretaries and Chairmen of other Advisory Committees. It would be a rather large body but I cannot see how that can be avoided, having regard to the need to associate unofficial chairmen of advisory committees with the policy machinery of the Government.
(f) All members of Executive Council would be
collectively responsible for the decisions reached by the Governor in Council on the advice of the members.
(g) Legislative Council would sit under the
presidency of the Governor or, on occasion or perhaps more often than not, of the Deputy Governor. The Council would consist of all members of Executive Council except the Commander British Forces and an equal number of other unofficial members chosen in the main from the membership of the various advisory committees and boards, other than the advisory committees appointed specifically to work with the Permanent Secretaries.
All members
of Executive Council would have to support decisions of the Executive Council in debate in the Legislative Council.
3. These are very much first thoughts. They would involve a considerable amount of preliminary work in Hong Kong before anything on these lines could be implemented. I would like, however, to put an outline of the proposals to the Governor and, if you agree, I will draft.
4 June, 1970
En
(E. 0. Laird)
Hong Kong Department
CONFIDENTIAL