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Sir K. Roberts Wray.
1. I understand that Mr. de Comarmond has already mentioned to you his doubts about clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill behind (ö) (vide X and Z of his minute of 29/10). The 1948 part of this file was not before him when he minuted, but has been shown to him since.
2. This Bill results from the reorganisation of the Hong Kong Judicial and Legal Departments described in (4) on the 1940 file, discussed at some length with Mr.Griffin here last year, and approved in our despatch at (6) on the 1940 file. In view of paragraph 6 of that despatch I see some difficulty in now querying the propriety of what clause 3 of the Bill proposes.
3.
Reference Y of Mr. de Comarmond's minu e I do not know whether a person who is neither a Zarrister nor a golicitor can be appointed to the
Colonial Legal Service aS a Legal Officer.
J. Wallan
I have discussed X in Mr. de Comarmond's minute with him.
I do not think, and he does not suggest, that we can raise any objection to the proposal to permit barristers and solicitors to perform the same functions within the Government service or, indeed, to fusion of the professions in private practice if Hong Kong were to wish to take that step. His point is that Hong Kong should be invited to consider whether the Bill might lead to a demand for fusion, and if it did so whether that would be at all embarrassing. In this connection
Mr. de Comarmond has pointed out that Hong Kong solicitors can obtain a purely local qualification under the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (37 of 1948) and it may be that it would not be considered desirable for all men so admitted to have the unrestricted right te practise as barristers.
I think this is a point which ought to be considered. We are not committed to any view by para. 6 of (6) on the 1948 file which stated only that it was understood that, although the two branches of the legal profession are, in private practise, separate, there would be no difficulty about appointing solicitors as Crown Counsel.
What
we had in mind there was that such appointments might be resented by members of the Bar.
In any case the Bill has been sent to us in a semi- official letter from the Attorney-General and there is no reason why we should not put Mr. de Comarmond's point in a semi-official letter to him.
Mr
de Comarmond agrees with me that we should drop the point at in his minute. The Secretary of State
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