(b)
variation one way or the other in the course of a year.
Such a system of financial control is likely to cause disappointment locally, but we expect the Treasury would find the greatest difficulty in agreeing to less for as long as Hong Kong represents a contingent liability on Imperial funds. Much of the disappointment could however no doubt be overcome by tactful and sympathetic administration of the control, and the Governor might also indicate that the control will be relaxed as Hong Kong's financial position improves and general Treasury control is lifted.
Confirmation of the Municipal Council's by-laws etc.
In paragraph 42 of his despatch Sir M. Young recommended that no power of veto or certification should be reserved to the Governor or the Governor in Council, and that the regulations, rules and by-laws of the Municipal Council should not have to be laid on the table of the Legislative Council. In your minute of 14th April you pointed out that the by-laws of local authorities in this country require the approval of the Ministry of Health (see also paragraph 4 of the memorandum at No. 115) and suggested that it would be desirable to have a provision in Hong Kong requiring by-laws of the Municipal Council to be laid before the Legislative Council, and giving the latter power to annul them (but not amend them) by Resolution.
Our feeling was that such a provision would, in one sense, be a logical consequence of the requirement that the Municipal Council should act in general conformity with policy laid down by the Central Government (see para. 4(i) above). The Governor might therefore be asked whether he agrees that it would be desirable to include a provision on these lines, at any rate for the period of the first Council, and if so whether it would in his view be politically feasible at this stage. We might however add, very tactfully, that, if such a provision is included, care should be exercised, in so far as this may be possible, to ensure that in practice it would not result in interference by the Legislative Council in the day-to-day handling of business by the Municipal Council, but would be confined to the exercise of general policy control.
(c) Default powers. The position in this country
is described in paragraph 6 of the note at No. 115, i. e. there are no general default powers giving a Central Department power to give direction to local authorities who fail to discharge their general functions
as
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