CO129-626-9 Wholesale vegetable marketing scheme 1-2-1951 - 30-11-1951 — Page 44

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tain these answers and the status of this Organisation remains undefined.

For the sake of easy reference we give the follow-

ing extract from our previous report :-

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During the course of our examination, we

raised the question of the status of the Organisa- tion. We pursued enquiries with the Crown Solicitor, to whom we were referred, and as we were unable to obtain a definite opinion we now submit for your serious consideration certain questions the answers to which, in our opinion, affect the scope and authority on which the Organisation's transactions have been conducted. It is emphasized that we have accepted as in order all payments and transactions approved by the Officer-in-Charge, for the time being.

1. The Organisation was brought into being as a direct result of the Wholesale (Kowloon) Market- ing (Vegetable) Order 1946, made under the Defence Regulations. Is this Organisation a Government De-

partment or not?

2. If it is not a Government Department, what

is its legal constitution?

3.

To whom do these funds belong?

a) The Hong Kong Government, or

b) The farmers who have contributed to them through the commission charges on the sales of their vegetables.

4. If this Organisation is a Government Depart-

ment, should not the whole of the income and expen- diture be approved by the Legislative Council and

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