CODE 18-77
SECRET
D.W W. HKK 040/1106
HIKOLO
RECEIVED REGISTEN NO. 61
A
& JUN 179
DESK OFFICEN
INDEX
PATRY
Mr McLaren
HONG KONG: LEASES IN THE NEW TERRITORIES
PA
ло
087
ECH
1. With reference to your minute and our telephone conversa- tion of yesterday:-
81A
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1. I do not care for the Hong Kong draft in para 1 of
2.
telno 547, as most of it is unnecessary and the rest implies the absence of powers which in fact already exist.
I do not understand why telno 518 speaks of local legisla- tion since none is required under Article 2 of the draft Order as it stands at present.
2. I attach a new draft Order for consideration.
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In this draft:-
a. a new Article 1(3) has been added, which is formal;
b. Article 2(1) uses the word "indefinitely" as requested
in para 2 of telno 517.
c. a new para (3) has been added to Article 2 so as to
provide a peg for local legislation as it seems that this is what the Governor wants;
d. a new Article has been inserted to show that the Order of 1898 is unaffected and to place it beyond doubt that things done under it before June 1997 can cover periods after that date, as is in fact the case.
c. the Hong Kong draft of Article 3 does not attempt to
confer powers exercisable after June 1997 - nor does mine.
3. My draft Order of 31/1/79, which has been ignored by the Governor in his latest telegrams, covered much the same ground as my present draft - however the latter is more concise.
A.R.R.
A R Rushford
Deputy Legal Adviser
11 May 1979
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