1
No. 588.
2 Ser1558
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
26th July, 1938.
23
Sir,
I have the honour to refer to Article XVII of
the Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of the
United Kingdom, constituting the office of Governor and
Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hong Kong and its
Dependencies, and to inform you that, in connection with
my recent absence from the Colony on a visit to Canton,
I have been considering whether powers should not be
taken to enable the Governor to appoint by warrant the
Colonial Secretary, or in the Colonial Secretary's
absence some other suitable officer, to serve as
Governor's Deputy for all proper purposes on occasions
when the Governor is himself proceeding on short visits
outside the Colony, or is absent temporarily for one
reason or another from Headquarters.
2.
I understand that in the past it has been felt
that to create a break in the administration of the
Government of this Colony in such cases is both
unnecessary and undesirable; though I cannot understand
the reason for that apprehension. There has, therefore,
grown up a practice by which the Colonial Secretary,
without formally assuming administration of the Government,
has acted for the Governor during brief absences from the
Colony in such matters as are urgent or do not require the
Governor's personal attention. His authority to do so
has not been questioned but it would, in my opinion, be more satisfactory if express authority to deal with all
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
MALCOLM MACDONALD, M.P.,
&C. •
&C., &c.