CO537-1651 — Page 21

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Xo I think

Da. Mayle

ستمره

си

小

also applied in the case of the Singapore

municipality and it had not there, so far given rise

to the difficulties which Mr. Caine envisaged.

The

It was agreed that in view of the public

announcements which had been made both in Hong Kong

and in the House of Commons on the 1st May last

there could be no going back on the declared

intention of liberalising the constitution.

only question at issue therefore was whether the

means of achieving this object, should be by way of

a Municipal Council or by way of broadening the

basis of the Central Government itself. The view

previously taken was that if there was danger of

the Chinese exerting political influence in the

municipality, a fortiori it seemed that this danger

would be increased if a substantial proportion of

the members of the Legislative Council were to be

elected on a wide franchise. Mr. Caine, however,

thought that it would be more possible to control

elements who came under the influence of the

sexled

Kuo-Min-Tang were they members of the Legislative

elerloo Council than were they members of a practically

autonomous Municipal Council on which the Central

Government would not be represented, especially as

it was agreed that at the present stage an official

majority in the Legislative Council would be

fir containerd

balsسمس محت لعملو

reasonable The question of whether, in the event

of elections to the Legislative Council, it would be

necessary or practicable to confine membership of

the electorate to British subjects was touched on.

It was agreed that the papers should be submitted

to the Secretary of State with a draft telegram to the

Governor in which attention should be drawn to these

points and his assurance sought that he was still

/convinced