CO537-1651 — Page 110

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losure 1.

Enclosure 2.

15.

I also propose that certain modifications be made in the constitution of the Legislative Council for the purpose of giving a more

specifically representative character to the unofficial element in that

Council and of increasing the actual proportion of unofficial as compared

with official members.

6. As reported in my telegram No.12 of the 3rd May, 1946, the

statement which you authorized me to make concerning the revision of the

constitution was duly announced on the 1st May at the ceremony of the

re-establishment of Civil Government. A copy of this statement is annexed.

The announcement had a favourable reception in both the English and the

vernacular press.

7. In accordance with the suggestion made in the concluding paragraph of your predecessor's despatch I then detailed a senior officer of the Government for the special duty of assisting in the collection and collation of the views of the community and in the necessary planning and formulation

of my recommendations. The officer whom I selected for this task was

Mr. T. M. Hazlerigg, C.B.E., M.C., and I shall have occasion more than once in the course of this despatch to refer to the services which he has rendered

as my helper and adviser in this matter.

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8. As a preliminary step in the consultations which I was now to hold I addressed letters on the 29th May, 1946,' to a number of representative bodies, both Chinese and, non-Chinese, inviting them to give an outline of their views on some of the questions involved in the proposed revision of the constitution. They were asked whether they considered that the establishment

of a Municipal Council and the transference to it of some of the functions of Government would be the most satisfactory method of carrying out the intentions of His Majesty's Government or whether some other method commended itself to them. They were also told that their views would be welcomed on certain stated questions of importance which would fall to be determined if

the establishment of a Municipal Council were favoured.

I enclose a list of the representative bodies to which invitations

Enclosure 3. were sent and a form of the invitation issued.

At the same time I caused to be published in the English and Vernacul

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