CONFIDENTIAL
ANNEX A TO XCC(71)20
HISTORY OF THE URBAN COUNCIL AND
POSTWAR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
The Urban Couricil pre-19414 00:
1
The Urban Council's predecessor was the Sanitary Board, which was set up in 1883 to oversee public health, and from 1886 it had two unofficial members elected by persons named in the Jury list. A little later four nominated members were added to the Board. Even at this early stage there was pressure for the Board to develop into a municipal council, but the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council opposed this indeed there was some pressure for the abolition of the
· Board and for its work to be taken over directly by the Government. However, the Secretary of State refused to agree to the Governor's recommendation for its abolition. In this form the Board continued until 1936, when the Urban Council was established, with five official and *eight unofficial members (two elected by persons on the Jury list).
powers of the Council were not enlarged at this stage, and the early elections failed to arouse any significant interest. In those day's service on the Urban Council was regarded as preliminary training for eventual elevation to the Legislative Council.
The Urban Council postwar
totap
;་'
at
The
2 The next development came in 1946, when Sir Mark Young announced the British Government's wish to give the people of Hong Kong (and not only those of British nationality) a "fuller and more responsible share in the management of their own affairs, and suggested that one possible method of doing so was to set up a Municipal Council, constituted on a fully representative basis", and charged with "important functions of Government". Representative bodies were invited to comment on how best to achieve this aim, and there was a wide response. Public opinion seemed to favour a municipal council, and the Governor therefore outlined tentative proposals; he visualised a Council functioning only in the urban areas, with two-thirds of its members elected in equal numbers by Chinese and non-Chinese voters respectively, the remaining one-third to be elected in equal numbers by Chinese and non-Chinese representative bodies. The Council might have complete control of its own municipal finances,' to allow eit to pursue genuinely independent policies. At the same time, the
Government suggested that the Legislative Council should have seven official and eight unofficial members; of whom one each should be nominated by the Justices of the Peace and the Chamber of Commerce (as before) and two by the new Municipal Council. This Young Plan was well received and was forwarded to the Colonial Office in October 1946; meantime $1.5 million was earmarked in the 1947 budget for setting up the Municipal Council. In July 1947 approval of the plan was announced, with certain reservations, and detailed work on implementing it began. In July 1949 the necessary legislation had been drafted and published; there was to be a mayor and 30 Councillors, half to represent the Chinese community and half the non-Chinese inhabitants. Two-thirds (20) were to be directly elected and one-third nominated by public and professional bodies.
CONFIDENTIAL