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4 I understand that the Colonial Secretary was ex-officio Chairman of the Harbour Advisory Committee established in 1931 which however was not an active body and was virtually defunct before the war. The present Port Committee, faced with major questions of development pol: v, is a much busier and more effective affair, and it is true that hitherto the Chairman (who was not even provided with a Secretary to write the minutes) has had a great deal of work falling on his shoulders as a result of the meetings. With an efficient Secretary there is no reason why the Chairman should have a particularly heavy task. I do not know how much of this you will want to say to the Colonial Office.
S. The unofficial members of the Committee are always hankering after the idea that the Port Committee should have more than advisory and consultative powers, in which I am inclined to think they are wrong; but I also wonder sometimes whether the Secretariat remembers the extent of the Colony's dependence on the welfare of the Port. This, however, is a separate question which is not raised on the Governor's Despatch, but will have to be studied when the future of the Committee comes up in 1950. I do not think you want to commit the Ministry to any view yet of what should happen then.
6.You should, however, realise that there is significance in the date 1950. The leases of all piers in Hong Kong expire at the end of 1949 and the question whether they are to be renewed and if so on what terms will have to be settled before then. This will be a fundamental decision affecting the whole future of the port. I understand that legislation is ready whereby the Government will exercise a greater measure of control than heretofore over the private firms which operate the piers without altering the system of private operation. This or some other legislation will have been passed and put into effect before the composition of the Port Committee comes up for re-consideration. If you agree to defer further consideration of the Port Committee until 1950, you should realise that the most important questions of port policy will have been settled long before then.
I understand that the European members of the Committee are quite content with the member provided by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He is Dodwell's comprador and concurrently a director of the Chinese Government-owned China Merchants S.N.Co. I know him faintly; he seems a very quiet and intelligent man, who has obviously made a large fortune, but I understand he does not take a prominent part in the meetings of Committees. If there is no Chinese demand to increase Chinese represen- tation I can see no reason to complain.