CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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During 1974, the litigation unit continued to perform the work of solicitors in the majority of criminal trials in the Supreme Court and appeals in the Full Court. In all such cases, members of the Bar were briefed as advocates. This close co- operation between the unit and members of the Bar brought about a considerable saving in time and expense for all concerned. Legally-aided criminal cases tried in the District Court were for the most part conducted by solicitors in private practice.
Urban Council
The Urban Council is a body corporate, responsible for handling its own finances under a chairman and vice-chairman elected by its own members. The council com- prises 24 members, 12 of whom are appointed by the Governor and 12 elected by residents eligible to vote under the Urban Council Ordinance. Their terms of office are four years, but a member may be re-appointed or re-elected for further terms. There are no official members.
The council continued to hold its public meetings once a month, but most of its business is decided by the standing committee of the whole council and 13 select committees which meet regularly and frequently. In addition, there are 33 sub- committees, boards and panels. The select committees, sub-committees, boards and panels co-opt such officials as are necessary, but each committee is chaired by an Urban Councillor.
The Urban Council's responsibilities are restricted to Hong Kong Island, Kow- loon and New Kowloon, which hold more than 80 per cent of the population. Its main duties are: Public sanitation and cleansing; the licensing and hygienic control of all food premises, offensive trades, bathhouses and laundries; and management and con- trol of markets, abattoirs, hawkers, cemeteries, crematoria and funeral parlours. They also include management of the City Hall, City Museum and Art Gallery, public libraries, government car parks, places of public recreation (bathing beaches, swim- ming pools, tennis and squash courts, football stadia, games halls, sports grounds, playgrounds and parks); the provision and patronage of cultural services and outdoor entertainment; licensing of places of public entertainment and liquor licensing. In all these fields, the Urban Council's policies and decisions are carried out by the Urban Services Department, the director of which is the principal executive officer of the council under the Urban Council Ordinance.
Most of the cost of this work is met from income from the Urban Council's share (40 per cent) of the yield from rates in the urban area. Fees and charges provide other sources of income. In the fiscal year 1974–5 the total income of the council amounted to about $287 million.
Foreign Relations
The foreign relations of the Hong Kong Government are the responsibility of the British Government, but with external trade a considerable degree of latitude is per- mitted to Hong Kong. The territory's dependence on trade makes it necessary for the Hong Kong Government to operate offices in London, Washington, Geneva and Brussels to maintain and improve commercial relations with other countries.