100
6699) C
(c) The weight of both Chinese and non Chinese opinion was in favour of voters being not less than 25 years of age and members of the Council not less than 30 years of age. 25 years is regarded by Chinese as the age of discretion. Should have no objection to reduction of age of Councillors to 25 years, but regard retention of that age for voters as most desirable.
(a) I agree that property and jury qualifications of franchise should be kept under review and reconsidered before the second election of the Council.
(e) Property qualification is not a necessary condition of eligibility for membership of the Council. It is one of two alterative qualifications for election (and thus of Councillor), the second alternative being jury service or recognised exemption therefrom.
Any possible nominee for a trade union who possesses requisite qualifications of membership of the Council, ability to speak, read and write English, is necessarily qualified and liable to serve as a juror under Section 3 of Jury Ordinance, 1887, unless lawfully exempted, and thus, unless he evaded jury service, the nominee would possess the alternative personal qualifications attaching to jury service or exemption therefrom,
(f) When it becomes recognised the electoral privileges attaching to jury service and lawful exemption therefrom, it is likely that prevailing evasion of jury service by the Chinese will decrease and the number of electors substantially increase, with a corresponding increase in representation of those who have no property qualifications,
I should deplore any reduction of numbers nominated by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the University and Chinese Justice of Peace, made in order to secure greater representation of trade unions which, at present, are only passing through formative stage and which bear little resemblance to trade unions in the U.K.
/(g)