по
040/4
3.
Note
Spoken PS jar, luce. He has disessed this wat dr. Stow.
No need to reply.
Pa Diram with Kyzzji sill
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PS/M. Lure if a reply
1
Itinin
regined.
1985
Ofr
minute to M. Briffen
mentaher it. M
no Rf Dear Richard,
040/4
пок
exarrig!
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X
Defensive.
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HOME OFFICE
QUEEN ANNE'S GATE
LONDON SWIH 9AT
18 JAN 1985
2
Mr Garsfoorthy HKD
PS ps/mchuce Sir W. Harding
fr. Wilson Parly whit
Ihave told Mr. wedding ton's office than & is a home starter (and mar the whips rellus, Mr. Powell's amend mear is warikely to gain much support). When you spoke to one of my colleagues to convey Mr. Luce's response to Bur Mr. Waddington's letter of 17th January, you said that Mr. Luce foresaw certain 1 difficulties about Mr. Waddington's proposal in that we should place the draft Order in the Library of the House on the understanding that technical amendments he may have to be made before the final Order is formally introduced. These grateful difficulties were that the draft Order had been seen by neither the Hong Kong for Government nor EXCO, that the placing of the Order in the Library even if possible might raise questions as to why the nationality provisions had not been put Short in the Bill, and that there were in any case likely to be major amendments to Afr the Order. You asked me to let you have Mr. Waddington's views.
shid
Letter
reinforcing
He takes the view that we ought if we can help by putting a draft of the proposed Order in Council in the Library before the Committee Stage we will,
viewi
but that any such Order will be just a draft because there are many technical Sh
problems to sort out.
He considers that we should also say not just that the House will be able to bring pressure on the Government to change any Order in Council but that the House is perfectly able if it wishes (although the Government doesn't recommend this course) to amend paragraph 2 of the Schedule so as to extend or limit the scope of an Order in Council made by the use of the power in the Bill.
The Government of course could not accept an amendment which ran counter to the agreement with China.
He also feels that to say in the draft speech that it would be wasteful of Parliamentary time to have a separate Bill at a later stage although obvious will be highly likely to stir up trouble. He considers that we should stick firmly to the fact that we must get the Bill through so we can ratify on time and for that reason it is simple and yet gives a very clear indication of how the nationality problem is to be dealt with.
Finally, Mr. Waddington has asked me to put forward an additional amendment to the opening speech. He is concerned that it should bring out the fact that the Order in Council about nationality is tightly circumscribed by the Bill and cannot be used for other purposes or in relation to people other than people connected with Hong Kong.
118/1
A
"
Richard Westmacott Esq.
/Cont...