Mr Laird
1.
Please see Sir Leslie Monson's minute of 4 January.
2. As regards paragraph 1 of that minute, I have been unable to find anything further on record about the members of the Heung Yee Kuk. However, I have been given the following information by
Mr Webb-Johnson of the Hong Kong Government Office who has had much to do with the Heung Yee Kuk and is well acquainted with its procli-
vities.
3.
The Heung Yee Kuk is truly representative of the original inhabitants of the New Territories. However, with the spread of industry into the New Territories from the urban areas, more and more newcomers are taking up residence in the former area. Conse- quently the original inhabitants of the New Territories are forming a steadily lessening proportion of the total population.
4. It may well be that the members of the Heung Yee Kuk (or rather some of the lesser members it is quite a sizeable body) do have a tendency to grind their own axes when an opportunity of so doing occurs. But in fact it is often the case that what is good for the members of the Heung Yee Kuk is also good for the New Territories as a whole. Incidentally, Mr Webb-Johnson reckons that the population of the New Territories must now be around the one million mark, ie, one quarter of the total population of Hong Kong.
5. As regards paragraph 2 of Sir Leslie's minute, please see paragraph 7 of the Governor's letter flagged D in attached file. The present official member of the Executive Council is the Director of Social Welfare (Mr Rowe). The Governor selected him from a field of five which included Mr Luddington, District Commissioner, New Territories. The reasons why the Governor did not select Mr Ludding- ton were first that he expected the latter to come on to the Executive Council as an ex officio member in the near future (this in fact will shortly come about since it was recently announced in Hong Kong that Mr Luddington is to take over as Secretary for Home Affairs on the retirement of Mr Holmes later this year); and second because the Governor thinks it more appropriate for the District Commissioner, New Territories, to be left on the Legislative Council
alone.
8 January 1971
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A W Gaminara