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THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF COMMONS
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THE HONGKONG BAR ASSOCIATION AND THE LAW SOCIETY OF HONGKONG MOST
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CONFIDENTIAL
Reference
4
SIR VINCENT EVANS
CHIEF JUSTICE HONG KONG:
We discussed Mr. Stuart's minute to you of 10 January last week.
Another possible candidate that occurred to us was Sir Gordon Bryce,
who is due to retire as Chief Justice of the Bahamas shortly after
independence (10 July 1973) having been appointed to that post on
1 January 1970, having served as Attorney-General. I knew him well
when he was Attorney-General of Aden from which post he retired on
1 April 1973 and took up an academic post at Exeter University. He
gave that up and became Attorney-General, Bahamas in 1965.
2. I told you that he is a person I like and respect and I have
little doubt that he has done well as Chief Justice Bahamas.
Nevertheless he is a quiet retiring sort of man with a rather negative
personality, adequate but not outstanding as a lawyer, and we felt
that he was not a suitable person for Chief Justice Hong Kong.
3. In private and discreet conversation last week with Mr. Hobley,
at present seconded from Hong Kong to Bermuda as Attorney-General and the person likely to become Solicitor-General, I elicited from him (without disclosure of any of the confidential matters we know of)
his view that, if by any chance Mr. Roberts did not become Chief
Justice Mr. Briggs would be regarded in Hong Kong as the natural
second choice. His appointment would be well received generally and
in particular would be highly acceptable to the members of the
Attorney-General's Office.
A.R.R.
15 January 1973
c.c.
Sir Duncan Watson,
Wilford
Mr. Mr. A. C. Stuart.
CO
AR RUSHFORD
DEPUTY LEGAL ADVISER
DD 897152 154596 500M 2/72 GM 3643/2