CO537-2188 — Page 426

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As the

I very much hope that you will reconsider proposal that voters should be not less than 25 years of age and candidates for the Council not less than 30 years of age. right to vote is to be dependent upon literacy as well as property or jury qualification I am not convinced that there are grounds in either case for a higher age qualification than 21. In Singapore this age is being adopted both as the qualification for voting and for member- ship of the Council. Retention of the age of 30 as the minimum for membership is I feel, particularly open to objection as it might deprive the trade unions, for example, of the right to nominate their best representative.

While accepting the property or jury quali- fication for the fran- chise for the present I consider it should be understood that this condition will be kept under review as educa- tion spreads and illi- teracy is reduced and that it will in any event be reconsidered before the second

elections to the

Council.

5onsid

The weight of both Chinese and non Chinese opinion was in favour of voters being not less than 25 years of age and members of the Council not less than 30 years of age. 25 years is regarded by Chinese as the age of discretion. Should have no objection to reduction of age of Councillors to 25 years, but regard retention of that age for voters as most desirable.

I agree that property and jury qualifications of franchise should be kept under review and reconsidered before the second election of the Council.

onsider that the prop- Property qualification: erty qualification

should not be a condition of eligibility for member- ship of the Council and I assume from the last sub-paragraph of paragraph 29 of your despatch No.145 that you would agree. This seems to me to be an important point particu- larly as regards the nominees of the trade unions. I consider therefore that the prop- osals should be amended on this point.

is not a necessary condi- tion of eligibility for membership of the Council. It is one of two alter- native qualifications for election (and thus of Councillor), the second alternative being jury service or recognised exemption therefrom.

Any possible nominee for a trade union who possesses requisite qualifications of member- ship of the Council, ability to speak, read and write English, is necessarily qualified and liable to serve as a juror under Section 3 of Jury Ordinance, 1887,

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? accept the Governor's views and include in the open reply a sugg- estion for reducing the minimum age in the case of Members of the Council from 30 years to 25 years.

? include an under- standing to this effect in the open reply.

Miss Ruston has suggest- ed in her minute that wel should urge that this is a matter which should be kept under review so as to permit as soon as possible of trade union nominees being more directly representative of trade union members. The qualifications, how- ever, for an elector include literacy as well as the property or jury qualification and I doubt whether it is much use making this point unless we are prepared to dispense with the literacy qualification. I would accept the Gov- ernor's explanation of this point and make no reference to it in the open reply to his despatch.