Directory_and_Chronicle_1928 — Page 340

368

Executive

Council.

ROYAL INSTRUCTIONS-HONGKONG

Constitution of II. The Executive Council of the Colony shall consist of the Lieut- enant-Governor of the Colony (if any), the Senior Military Officer for the time being in command of Our Regular Troops within the Colony, the persons for the time being lawfully discharging the functions of Colonial Secretary, of Attorney-General, and of Treasurer of the Colony, who are hereinafter referred to as ex officio Members, and of such other persons as at the date of the coming into operation of Our said recited Letters Patent are Members of the said Council, or as We may from time to time appoint by any Instructions or Warrant under Our Sign Manual and Signet, or as the Governor in pursuance of Instructions from Us through one of Our Principal Secretaries of State may from time to time appoint under the Public Seal of the Colony.

Provisional

Members of the

Executive Counoil.

III. Whenever any Member, other than an ex officio Member, of appointment of the Executive Council of the Colony shall, by writing under his hand, resign his seat in the Council, or shall die, or be declared by the Governor by an Instrument under the Public Seal of the Colony to be incapable of exercising his functions as a Member of the Council, or be absent from the Colony, or shall be acting in an office the holder of which is an ex officio Member of the Council, or shall be suspended from the exercise of his functions as a Member of the Council, the Governor may, by an Instrument under the Public Seal of the Colony, provisionally appoint any public officer to be temporarily an Official or Unofficial Member of the Council, and any person not a public officer to be tem- porarily an Unofficial Member of the Council in the place of the Member so resigning, or dying, or being suspended, or declared incapable, or being absent, or sitting as an ex officio Member.

Such person shall forthwith cease to be a Member of the Council if his appointment is disallowed by Us, or if the Member in whose place he was appointed shall be released from suspension, or, as the case may be, shall be declared by the Governor by an Instrument under the Public Seal capable of again discharging his functions in the Council, or shall return to the Colony, or shall cease to sit in the Council as an ex officio Member.

Such provisional IV. The Governor shall without delay, report to Us, for Our con- appointments to firmation or disallowance, through one of Our Principal Secretaries of reported. State, every provisional appointment of any person as a Member of the

be immediately

Precedences

Governor to communicate

Instructions to Executive Council.

said Executive Council. Every such person shall hold his place in the Council during Our pleasure, and the Governor may by an Instrument under the Public Seal revoke any such appointment.

V.-The Official Members of the Executive Council shall take pre- cedence of the Unofficial Members, and among themselves shall have seniority and precedence as We may specially assign, and, in default thereof, first, the ex officio Members in the order in which their offices are above mentioned (except that the Senior Military Officer, if below the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in Our Army, shall take precedence after the person lawfully discharging the functions of Attorney-General), and then other Official Members and all Unofficial Members according to the priority of their respective appointments, or if appointed by or in pur- suance of the same Instrument, according to the order in which they are

named therein.

VI. The Governor shall forthwith communicate these Our Instruc- tions to the Executive Council, and likewise all such others, from time to time, as We may direct, or as he shall find convenient for Our service to impart to them.