CONFIDENTIAL
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
HONG KONG
R.G.MLYNX61
6 JUN 1972
NICK 1/19
2nd June 1972
2
Der Michael,
I wrote to you on 23rd May about the J.P. and General Chamber of Commerce seats on Leg. Co. I now enclose a further letter, dated 25 May, from Williams of the Chamber (with its attachment).
2.
Chapter VI of Endacott's book "Government and People in Hong Kong" is devoted to the reconstruction of the Legislative Council in 1883/84 of which the letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Senior Police Magistrate of 20 December 1883, attached to Williams letter is a part. Endacott states that since then the J.P.s and General Chamber have made one nomination each for the Legislative Council 'as of right'.
3.
We all believe this to be wrong though something to be taken account of, of course. As you know the Royal Instructions were never amended to take account of this arrangement approved by the Secretary of State. In his sweeping post-war proposals for constitutional advance in Hong Kong (para. 44 of his despatch of 22 October 1946) Sir Mark Young reported that these nominations had been
'the practice but find no place in either of the Instruments relating to the Constitution of the Legislative Council'. He in fact proposed to embody the nominations in the Constitution, and this was announced in Parliament by Mr. Creech-Jones in March 1947. But his proposals were eventually swept away, and never implemented, in the totally new situation created after 1949.
E.O. Laird Esq., CMG, MBE
CONFIDENTIAT
/over