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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
The Urban Council consists of 26 members—six ex officio mem- bers and 20 ordinary members of whom 10 are elected and 10 are appointed by the Governor. Of the ex officio members, the Chairman (appointed by the Governor) is the Director of the Urban Services Department, while the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services is the statutory vice-chairman. The other ex officio members are the Honourable Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Social Welfare and the Commissioner for Resettlement. The term of office of an ordinary member is four years. The council meets monthly to transact formal business, but most of its business is dealt with by 16 select committees which meet at frequent intervals. All select committees are chaired by unofficial members and, without exception, the unofficial members are in the majority.
The membership of the Urban Council is given at Appendix XLIV. The main responsibilities of the Urban Council, which are carried out through the Urban Services Department, cover environ- mental sanitation and hygiene, licensing and inspection of food premises and factories, offensive trades, bathhouses and laundries, running of markets and abattoirs, licensing and control of hawkers, management of cemeteries and crematoria and control of funeral parlours, management of the City Hall, museum and art gallery and public libraries, management of government multi-storey and open-air car parks and the management and maintenance of certain places of public recreation such as bathing beaches, swimming pools, tennis courts, squash courts and parks and playgrounds in the urban areas. The council is also the competent authority for the management of resettlement areas and estates and resettlement factory areas in the urban areas.
NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION
The New Territories are divided into four administrative districts, each under a District Officer who has a staff of between 107 and 205, depending on the size and complexity of the district. The Tai Po district, with an area of 123 square miles and a population estimated at 161,151, covers the north-east of the New Territories with its District Office at Tai Po Market. The Yuen Long district, with an area of 86 square miles and a population of about 118,456,