CO537-1651 — Page 85

The Expenditure Head of "Defence" makes provision for the two Volunteer forces and in addition contributes towards the cost of the military garrison. This was formerly on the basis of a percentage of net revenue collected but shortly before the War a composition was made with the War Office for a fixed contribution of six million dollars per annum with safeguards in the matter of exchange fluctuation.

Education in Hong Kong is not compul sory but over a thousand schools are registered and inspected. Teaching in the English tongue is provided by fourteen Government and sixteen grant-aided (mostly mission- ary) schools. One secondary and three feeder schools admit pupils of pure European descent only. The University is independent but receives a considerable subvention from the Government.

Besides the Executive and Legislative Councils there is a number of semi-official advisory bodies, mostly without statutory powers, who are consulted on such questions as Iabour, Education, Harbour affairs and the like. But besides these there are two bodies with important func tions. The District Watch Committee is the senior of a large number of native committees over which the Secretary for Chinese Affairs presides. Its proceedings and minutes are all in the Chinese language and it is normally consulted on all questions which will affect that community although its statutory powers are negligible. It is from the leading members of this Committee that the Chinese members of Legislative Council are normally selected by the Governor.

The second important body is the Urban Council. Between 1903 and 1935 there was a comprehensive "Public Health and Buildings Ordinance" which gave a number of important municipal powers to a body called the Sanitary Board. By the 1935 reforms this was separated up into a number of Ordinances giving powers in technical matters (quarantine, disinfection etc.) to the Director of Medical Services but reserving the less technical matters such as scavenging, house-cleaning, markets, etc. to the lay board now renamed Urban Council but constituted exactly as was the old Sanitary Board, namely eight unofficials of whom two are elected periodically and six (including three Chinese) are Governor's appointees. The Chairman is a specially appointed Administrative Officer who is also in charge of the Sanitary Department, and there are four other official members.

The franchise on which the two elected members are selected is based on the two Jury Lists (Special and Common) upon which all resi- dents, regardless of race or nationality, are liable to serve provided they know enough English to understand pleadings. Certain professions

(journalists, parsons, barristers, teachers, doctors, etc.) are exempted from such service but get the vote for Urban Council elections. Although the literacy test may seem high it may well be that some such franchise might form the basis for the experiment in self-government which has now been promised: the Jury Lists cover over eighty closely printed pages of the Gazette each year and though Chinese with a know- ledge of English naturally predominate, there is that avoidance of racial discrimination which the constitution and the administration of justice alike attempt to ensure. The two elected members at the moment are one Chinese and one Portuguese but English candidates are quite common. The widening of the powers of this body was definitely envis– aged in the 1935 legislation and in the change of title from "Sanitary Board" to "Urban Council".

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