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Officer Commanding the Troops will in future administer the Government, I con- sider that it would be of advantage that he should be a member of the Legislative Council, and if he is added to it, I am willing to add one unofficial member to the unofficial bench. Who the latter should be and what special interest, if any, be should represent, I leave to the Governor to determine. I may observe, however, that the Chinese community is the element which is least represented while it is also far the most numerous, and that I should regard as valuable any step which tended to attach them more closely to the British connection, and to increase their practical interest in public affairs.
6. As regards the second point, namely, whether or not an unofficial element should be introduced into the Executive Council, I would observe that, whilst most of the larger Crown Colonies possess one or more Municipal Councils, subor- dinate to the Colonial Government, in Hongkong there is no such institution. Moreover, it seems impracticable to alter this state of things for this reason among others that the Colony and the Municipality would be in great measure co-extensive, and it would be almost impossible to draw the line between Colonial and Municipal
matters.
This being so, in my opinion the most practical course is to recognise that the Colonial Government is discharging Municipal duties, and that on that account representatives of the citizens may fairly be given a place on the Executive.
7. I therefore propose that the Executive Council shall in future include two unofficial members to be selected at the discretion of the Governor. It is obviously desirable that they should, as a rule, be chosen from among the unofficial members of the Legislative Council, and the choice should, and no doubt will be, inspired by consideration of personal merit, and have no reference to the particular class or race to which the persons chosen belong.
8. You will receive in due course amended Royal Instructions and in the meantime this despatch may be made public with an intimation that the subject has been considered from every point of view and that my decision is to be regarded as final.
I have the honour to be,
Governor
Sir W. ROBINSON, K.C.M.G.,
fc.,
&c.,
Şir,
Your most obedient,
humble Servant,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
fc.