Ed. (3746)
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry
No. HWB 14/61
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
G. de Basto, Esq.,
Hong Kong Bar Association, Secretary's Chambers,
218, Marine House,
Hong Kong.
Coopentinio
Type 1 +
From
Minister of State
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
Thank you for your letter of 26 September about our
discussion on 9 August.
You ask in your letter for confirmation of the areas
in which we agreed in principle. I must point out that our
discussions were purely exploratory and I undertook to put
to the Governor the points you raised with me.
You will no doubt, appreciate that before any decision or vitores fomulatio
is made on the points you raised, we must obtain the
Governor's views which we are now doing.
In these circumstances I am sure you will understand
that it would not be proper for you to report to the Bar
on the lines indicated in paragraph 6 of your letter.
In saying this, I am not suggesting that you are precluded
from informing the Bar, if you think fit, that you have
the
made representations to me concerning/matters raised at our
meeting and that I undertook to consider your representa-
tions in consultation with the Governor; provided, of
course, that you do not give the impression that I have
agreed to any particular course of action in the light of
your representations.
Page
Reference..
HWB 14/61
12
Sir J. McPetrie
I should be grateful if you would look at the further letter from Mr. de Basto at (10), recording his version of the discussions with you and the Minister on 9 August; and also at Mr. Stewart's
minute of 4 October. An early reply is clearly desirable in view of the arrangements disclosed in paragraph 6 of the letter.
2.
I suggest that the Minister might reply on the lines of the attached draft. The question arises as to whether the Minister should add any observations on the point mentioned at X of Mr. Stewart's minute or on the apparent inconsistency to which Mr. Stewart draws attention at Y. Perhaps you would advise on these points since you were present at the discussions
3. I would not be happy about pressing Hong Kong too hard for an early reply to our letter at (9) which they will have received barely a month ago. The question of appointments from the Bar to the bench will, I judge, require very careful considera- tion and fairly lengthy consultation with the Chief Justice. For the same reason I would be against raising this with the Governor when he is here for discussions in the week beginning 21 October.
10 October, 1968
L. 8. Carter
(W. S. Carter)
age 9
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