of a territory such as Hong Kong, appeared to be
have the intention of
designed with a view to ensuring a permanent
European majority on the Municipal Council.
On your third point, namely, the right of the
recognised trade unions to nominate two representatives
to the Council, we considered very carefully a
suggestion put forward by Mr. Mitchell that this
provision could better be designated in the present
circumstances of the Colony as the right of
organised labour to nominate representatives, i.e.
omitting any express reference to the trade unions.
It is, however, my belief that, untried as those
unions are as yet in Hong Kong, it will in the long
run be to the Colony's advantage that they should
from the very outset have this small share in
Municipal representation.
an
Jon
It is my hope, and, I think,
not unreasonable that this responsibility,
asona
together with certain other measures which we have in
mind, will serve to guide these unions, now in a
formative stage, to the point at which they will
become genuinely and fully representative of the
true interests of organised labour in the Colony.
We have done our best to devise a workable
form of Government for the Colony of as truly
democratic a character as we dould. We do not
claim that the solution we have finally decided to
adopt is the perfect one, and we all realise that
experience will suggest modifications and improvements.
But the experiment we are now prepared to make is
the one which we feel, after considering various
alternatives, to be the most appropriate to Hong
Kong's particular circumstances. His certainly
the result of prolonged and careful thought on
the part of all concerned tracks should like to
a
conclude
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