Communications between the Council and the Colonial Secretary
15. The normal channel of communication between the Council and Government will be between the Chairman or Secretary of the Council on the one hand and the Colonial Secretary on the other.
The Urban Council's Standing Orders
16. It is proposed that the Council's Standing Orders should be subject to approval by the Legislative Council. In the past the Urban Council has been free to determine its own Standing Orders, an arrange- ment which will be considerably less appropriate after the changes proposed in this paper have been implemented.
Membership of Official Committees
17. Where it is in the public interest that Urban Councillors should be appointed to official Committees, they will normally only be appointed on a personal basis, and not as representatives of the Council.
Franchise
18. The present number of those eligible to vote includes most rate-payers, all tax-payers, and all with a secondary or higher educa- tion, besides many other categories of private persons, amounting to some 250,000 - 300,000 adults in all; and it is not proposed to extend the franchise any further at present nor to introduce the automatic registration of voters. However, the categories of persons eligible to vote will be reviewed from time to time. Residents of the New Terri- tories who are amongst the categories eligible to vote will retain this right. A minor change which appears to be desirable is the extension of disqualification from voting in the case of individuals serving prison sentences for a longer period than the actual term of imprisonment, and this will be considered further.
Candidates for election
19. Candidates for election to the Urban Council will not be de- barred from standing because they are residents of the New Territories. The present arrangement gives voters the widest possible choice and recognizes that persons with substantial urban interests may maintain homes in the New Territories. Moreover, it would not be reasonable to permit only residents of the urban area to stand for election without
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