CO537-1651 — Page 111

- 3.

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Press a notification inviting written representations on the subject from

members of the public who might feel that they were in a nosition to express

i

the opinions and wishes of any part of the community.

Enclosure 4.

Enclosure 5.

notification is also enclosed.

9.

A copy of this

Copy of

On

The replies of the representative bodies whom I had invited to

give their views were on the whole helpful, and in some cases much care

and trouble were devoted to drawing up proposals for consideration.

the other hand more than one important body found cause to comment on the

indifference shown by the majority of their members, and the attitude of

the general public was to some extent illustrated by the fact that only a

dozen letters were received in response to the invitation to members of the

public. The majority of these were unrelated to the question of

constitutional reform and only one contained any constructive suggestions.

10. On the 28th August, 1946, after a careful consideration of the

views which had been expressed in the various written representations, I

made a broadcast address on the subject of the proposed revision of the

Constitution. After referring to the desire of His Majesty's Government

that the issues involved should be thoroughly examined in Hong Kong, I

announced that the result of my enquiries up to that time had been to show

that the establishment of a Municipal Council and the transference to it of

some of the functions of the Government were generally regarded as being

the most satisfactory method of giving effect to the intentions of His

Majesty's Government, and that I was accepting this as a basis for the next

stage of my enquiry. I then outlined specific proposals on the formation

of a Municipal Council and the main questions involved therein.

I made it clear that these proposals were tentative in character

At the and that they were intended to serve as a basis for discussion.

same time I both invited the submission of further written representations

and also stated that I intended to ask representatives of all shades of

opinion to discuss orally with me in the immediate future the many matters

which would have to be determined. I enclose a copy of the text of my

broadcast, which was reproduced in full on the following day in the English

and Vernacular Press.