CO129-592-10 Future Policy in Hong Kong- Port Administration 10-4-1946 - 15-4-1947 — Page 148

Sir,

145

Colonial Office,

28, Grosvenor Street,

London, W.1.

8th April, 1946.

As you have already been notified by Mr. Melmoth, it is proposed that a meeting of the Hong Kong Port Consultative Committee should be held at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 17th April, in the Conference Room, on the 3rd floor of the Colonial Office, Downing Street, As I am myself giving up my work in the Colonial Office at the end of April it is probable that this will be the last meeting of the Committee and that all further decisions in the matter of the Port Trust will (as was always foreseen) rest with the Hong Kong Government upon its re-establishment.

2.

I enclose a copy of a raft Ordinance which has been prepared by Mr. C.J. Colman, Chairman designate of the Port Trust; comments and recommend- ations on this draft will no doubt form the chief part of the minutes of the meeting of 17th April, at which Mr. Colman will of course bo present.

3.

It is requested that the enclosure be treated as fully confidential pending its consideration in Hong Kong.

4. The draft Ordinance follows the lines of similar legislation in other parts of the British Empire and has been purposely drawn so widely as to cover the full range of powers rormally given to such a Trust, br power is reserved to the Governor in Council to defer any portion coming into effect.

5. Our Committee was instructed to advise the Secretary of State on the matters now at issue and I would suggest that this will be fulfilled by submittin the draft Ordinance and our recommendations ther upon, as embodied in the minutes of our next meeting (together, of course, with the minutes of our earlier mecting and the memoranda already circulated to members), and that a formal Report would be superfluous.

6.

I need hardly reiterate that the final decision on matters of both general principle and detai? must rest with the local Government when re-estab- lished, subject always to prior sanction of the Secretary of State under Article XXVI (8) of the Royal Instructions; and that the functions of our Committee are in the highest degree merely advisory.

I am,

Sir,

Your obedient servant,

(N. L. Smith;

Chairman

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