CO537-6046 — Page 7

SECRET 54145/4/50

DRAFT DESPATCH

1

sir,

I have the honour to refer to your despatch No. 155 of the

25th August, 1949, transmitting recommendations for the mendment of the

Constitution of Hong Kong.

2.

Since my assumption of office I have been giving these proposaly very careful consideration, and I now desire to inform you of some of conclusions which I have reached, Before doing so, however, I would like to

record my very real appreciation of the constructive thought which has been put into the formulation of the proposals recommended by you, not only by yourself but by the Unofficial Members of Legislative Council and other

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interested parties, who have contributed to this scheme of constitutional reform. I do not at this juncture desire to express my approval or otherwiso of the recommendations which you have made until you have had an opportunity of considering with all concerned the observations and suggestions made in the subsequent paragraphs of this despatch.

3.

I have taken note of the view expressed by the Unofficial Members of Legislative Council in conclusion (a) of their motion on the 22nd June, 149, that the proposals made by Sir Mark Young involving tus creation of a Municipal Council, with minor modifications only of the Constitution of the Legislature, are no longer considered to be the best means of giving the inhabitants of the Colony a fuller and more responsible shere in the management of their own a fairs. I am in general agreement with the view that in the changed circumstances of Hong Kong the Unofficial Members' conclusion is not unreasonable.

I have noted with such satisfaction that your proposals include recommendations for an Unofficial Majority in the Legislative Council, and I share your view that membership of the Council must be confined to British subjects. The proposed that the electorate must equally be limited to persons who are prepared to establish their claim to be British subjects would, however, have the effect, in practice, of limiting the proposed franchise to a very mall proportion of the present population of Hong Kong,

Sir A. Grantham, K. C.. G.,

/but

Lone Kong.