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4.
The bill and regulations were referred to a committee con-
sisting of the following: -
H.E.the General Officer Commanding the Troops, (Chairman)
The Attorney General.
G.H.Wakeman Esq;, Crown Solicitor.
Major L-G. Bird.
H.R.B. Hancock Esq.
R. K. Dyer Eaq:
G. . Young Esq;.
Mr. Wakeman is a volunteer officer with over 20 years service,
who has been President of the Hongkong Volunteer Reserve and who
commanded "B" Company in the Hongkong Defence Corps. Major Bird
is a local architect who joined the army early in the war and
who attained the rank of Major. Mr. Hancock was an officer in
the Hongkong Defence Corps. Mr. Dyer is the Manager of the
Hongkong & Whampea Dock Co. Ltd. Mr. Young, of Messrs.Futter-
field Swire, was nominated for this committee by the Chamber
of Commerce. The bill and regulations may be said to have re-
ceived the practically unanimous assent of the unofficial members
of the committee, i.e., Messrs. Bird, Hancock, Dyer and Young.
5.
Local opinion appears to be unanimous on the advisability
of the local forces being restored to a purely voluntary basis.
6.
The most important new feature in this legislation is the
principle of the election of officers and non-commissioned of-
ficers. This subject is dealt with in regulations 5(1) and
6(1) of the First Schedule to the Ordinance. The unofficial
members of the committee were very strong in their advocacy of this principle, and it was accepted by the Government. members of the committee understood that the actual appointment
The