4
his view, but would rather say that, in view of the
considerations advanced in the despatch, the Secretary
of State trusts that the Lords Commissioners will be
able to agree that the 0.A.G. should be given the
authority for which he asks not to proceed with the
second Ordinance.
9.62%
29.10.35
It will be appreciated that the second
Ordinance according to the model, of which there is
a copy flagged in 10628/33 General, does no more than
empower the Governor in Council to maintain and use
vessels of war, and to place at H.M. 's disposal for
general service for the Royal Navy any such war vessel
and any officers and men of the local Naval Volunteer
Force as have been entered on terms of accepting such
service.
The first, or existing, Ordinance allows the
Governor to raise and maintain a force of volunteers
for the naval defence of the Colony within its
territorial waters who may be instructed and exercised
on shore or on board any ship or vessel within the
territorial limits of the Colony.
The present despatch reports that on the
unanimous advice of the local Defence Committee in
Hong Kong, of which the G.0.C. and the Commodore-in-
Charge are members, the 0.A.G. considers that it
would be undesirable and contrary to the best interests
of the Colony to proceed with the second Ordinance.
We cannot expect the Admiralty to react otherwise than
most unfavourably against this view, since in No. 3 in
13717/22/Hong Kong they declared that the matters
133
considered to be of vital importance by the Admiralty
were