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is in any event a matter of considerable complexity.
There will have to be new constitutional instruments
the preparation of which would take at least six months
'and possibly longer, if our legal advisers here are
already committed to dealing with a programme of
constitutional development elsewhere as they are at
present.
If elections had to be provided for, there
would in addition be complex local election legislation,
which itself has to be dovetailed in, in certain respects,
with the constitutional instruments, and after it has
remain to
been enacted a great deal would/be done at your end
in demarcating electoral districts, in itself no simple
matter, and the registration of electors.
No doubt
something could be done in advance to prepare the ground,
but most of this work would have to await the operation
of the constitutional instruments
On the other hand,
amendment of the Urban Council Ordinance to include a
new category of person and the registration of their
names can proceed independently of the constitution of
the Colony.
6. When all this is taken into account it seems to us
that to make provision for elections to the Legislative
Council would inevitably lead to far more delay than the
widening of the Urban Council Franchise.
In the circumstances we hope that the Executive
Council will agree to para. 5 of the despatch
remaining as drafted.
17.