CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIA
Mr W.S. Carter
Page 265
16.
12th November, 1963
Knowles came in for a talk this morning.
points which I should report to you.
I think there are only two
The first is that, in the course of a general discussion about the possibility of broadening the field from which the nominated members of Legislative Council are draw, he told me that S. N. Chau was making noises here and there in favour of a wider representation of the people of Hong Kong in the counsels of government and that it was his (Knowles1) belief that what lay behind this was 3. N's wish to get it agreed that the Federation of Industries should put forward a person for Legislative Council whom you would nominate; that person of course to be S. N. Chau. There will, I know, be nothing very new in this to you and no doubt Knowles will tell you about this in more detail when he returns.
The other point, which he very properly prefaced by declaring his "Cathay Pacific" interest, was about the kind of DCA which in his view Hong Kong needed. He explained that Huspratt-Hilliams would be retiring in a few years time and that Winship was going at the beginning of next year; this therefore semed a suitable time to consider this queɛtion rather than leave it until later when it would have become a matter of immediacy. (I have noticed incidentally on the papers that Winship's successor, Thompson, is thought to be a potential DGA and was told that when the post of DCA falls vacant, as is expected, in early 1966, "his claims to promotion to it will be considered with those of other serving officers.") Knowles thinks that there would be advantage to Hong Kong's position in your part of the world if the DCA were a more "representative" kind of animal, rather than a technical man. From one or two instances which Knowles mentioned (e.g. the occasion when you sent Dick Lee to Bangkok so that Hong Kong might be represented by somebody on a pertwith the Ministers of the other territories concerned) it might seem that it is the Minister which one finds in more advanced constitutions that Knowles finds lacking. But, when we got down to it, it seemed to me that what he was really hankering after was the good old system of the Head of a major Department being en administrative officer, not a departmental man. He of course recognises the difficulties about this. He told me that he had broached his ideas with you and that he would discuss them further when he returned to Hong Kong. So I will not say more here, for fear of misrepresenting him,
Knowles has of course been in close touch with Trafford Smith over the impending inter-industry textile talks, He also had an interview with Lord Lansdowne last Friday.
I know that you regard him as one of your more helpful unofficials. From the way he talked this morning I can wall understand that.
PARK ROBERT BACK, GCMG, OBE,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
VICTORIA,
HC NG KONG.
Page 265
(W. I. J. Wallace)
CONFIDENTIAL