- 2 -
8
See52538/25
ph.
therefore be glad to know whether the Council of Legal
Education considers that the concessions in amended
Rule 43a can be granted to any Cadet Officer in this
Service or alternatively to officers who have in fact
exercised judicial functions for some period. In the
latter alternative, what would be the minimum period,
and would it have to be continuous ?
3.
Furthermore, would the Council be prepared
to grant to all Hong Kong officers special leave under
Rule 25 of the Consolidated Regulations to present
themselves for Part 2 after having kept three terms, or,
at least, after having kept five terms? I would point
out that in order to keep six terms, and take all the
examinations during a single leave, the period of leave
would require to be about 19 months. All the
examinations should certainly be taken during the
officer's first leave.
4. I presume that the phrase "two terms of
six months each" in Rule 43a means "two periods of six
months eachTM, but I should be glad to have definite
information on this point also.
5. As regards the inducements I am of opinion
that the bonuses referred to in my predecessor's
despatch are inadequate, and I propose, subject to your approval, to supplement them by an advance of £200 towards payment of fees and expenses in each case, to become a grant if the officer is called to the Bar within
a reasonable period. It is understood that the Governments
Malay. of the Straits Settlements and Federated States have
adopted similar arrangements.
The Finance Committee of the Legislative
Council agrees with the proposal and I should be glad
to