CO129-629-8 Social policy 1-12-1949 - 31-12-1951 — Page 50

Chinese Affaftys.

not

This recommendation was accepted by the Governor, who felt

that its effect at the present juncture would actually retard

the cause of social welfare in the Colony. the Governor's

despatch on the subject continued:-

"Before 1947 The Secretariat for Chinese Affairs did

official

as an

most of the/social welfare work in the Colony, and there is

nothing fundamentally different between the work now done

or contemplated by the Social Welfare Office and the work

formerly done in this field by the Secretariat for Chinese

Affairs. The Social Welfare Officer gazetted

Assistant Secretary for Chinese Affairs; he is thereby

able to perform many of the statutory functions of the

Secretary for Chinese Affairs without amending numerous

Ordinances, and he is able to make use of the District

Watch Force (which is under the Secretariat for Chinese

Affairs) for carrying out enquiries or entering premises.

Also, although financially autonomous and with his own

distinctive title, the Social Welfare Officer is at present

able to share the prestige accorded to the Secretariat for

Chinese Affairs by the Chinese community. I can percieve

no way in which the Social Welfare Office is hampered by

its close association with the Secretariat for Chinese

Affairs and I consider it preferable that they should

continue to work in the closest possible liaison

In considering the question, the Reports Sub-Committee

recorded that while they fully appreciated the reasons for this

rejection and realised that at present it might not be opportune

to separate the Social Welfare Office from the Secretariat for

Chinese Affairs, as both were interdependent, they hoped, never-

theless, that it might eventually be possible to separate the

two departments, since ideally a Social Welfare Office should

not be concerned with political work. These views were

conveyed to the Governor.

/As

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