CO129-593-5 Rehabilitation of Hong Kong University. For extracted photographs see CN 3-45- Provisional Powers Committee 21-8-1946 - 23-12-1946 — Page 25

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Powers Committee, as constituted by the Order-in- Council on the 27th day of March, 1946.

I agree that when the Secretary of State has approved the above appointments and the Committee has met and validated its previous acts and cleared up outstanding business, steps should be taken to transfer this Committee to Hong Kong. This would presumably be done by the Secretary of State appointing other members in place of Mr. Caine and Miss Ruston. Under the terms of the Order-in-Council, the powers given under it and by virtue of it cease on notification in the Hong Kong Gazette of appointments to the Court and Council of the University by the Chancellor. There is no reason, I suppose, why the Committee should not function in Hong Kong without any further steps being taken as soon as Mr. Sloss gets there, since there will then bẹ in Hong Kong the necessary number of members (two) to form a quorum.

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Mr. E.R. Edmonds.

Would you please put this before the

Secretary of State with our apologies for thus seeking belated approval for appointments under the Order in Council of which a copy is attached on top of the other side of the file?

When the draft of that Order in Council

was sent forward to the late Secretary of State the minutes (see in particular that of the 6th of March by Miss Ruston (flagged A)) explained the action that had been taken before it was realised that the Committee set up for this purpose would need statutory powers. It is not clear whether the late Secretary of State ever saw those minutes, but he did have a copy of the explanatory note at No.15 on this file. Unfortunately, after the Order in Council had been made, the need to resubmit the matter to him for formal approval of the appoint- ments of the four persons in question was overlooked. We therefore now ask that the present Secretary of State will rectify this oversight by initialling these minutes which, we are advised, will be a sufficient authority.

It is also proposed that, after the Committee has met and validated its previous acts, it should be transferred to Hong Kong. We shall not, however, need to trouble the Secretary of State again about its composition unless, after Mr. Sloss gets to Hong Kong, the Governor advises that some local appointments to the Committee are necessary in place of Mr. Caine and Miss Ruston who will, of course, resign on the transfer. As Mr. Mayle has said,

there may be no need for such additional local appointments to cover the period, which should be quite short, before the Order expires.

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