for a popularly elected Municipal Council embracing the large non British element of the population, would be regarded as retrograde and unsatisfactory. In this connection I invite reference to paragraph 11 of my confidential despatch of 22nd October, Failure to restrict would be regarded as deplorable by all loyal British subjects in the Colony in the case of councillors since it would involve abandonment of the requirement that they should take the oath of allegiance.
5 This dilemma, which seems to me insoluble when the question is one of establishing a popularly elected Legislative Council, arises, though to a very much less extent, when a Municipal Council is under consideration, since there are many who advocate the exclusion of non British subjects from that body too; but it can, end I think should, be solved in the manner proposed by me, namely by throwing open participation to aliens (both Chinese and European) and by confining the functions of the elected body to administration of internal affairs, and so ensuring that it shall not concern itself with political matters such as relations with the Chinese Goverment and Kuomintang and questions concerning the status of the Colony. It would naturally not be practicable to impose any such limitations on the deliberations of the Legislature.
6 Even if a satisfactory solution to this aspect of the problem could be found, I should still feel bound to advise strongly against replacing the plan for a generally elected Municipality enjoying full control over certain specified Governmental administrative functions by a scheme for a Legislative Council elected in part on a popular basis, with Advisory Committees for the study of certain Departmental affairs.
7: The two main reasons given in your telegram for considering this substitution are
(1) Example of Singapore (ii) Lack of enthusiasm.
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