TNAG-0117-FCO40-153-Constitutional-developments-1969 — Page 12

Mr. Carter

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference will is

BRIEFS FOR SIR LESLIE MONSON

(one if

we way

1/2 instead of

I think that we really must get away from the habit of simply providing a covering brief bringing up-to-date that prepared for the last visitor to Hong Kong. In some cases this may be all right, but if we pursue it all the time the result is simply to add one more sheet of paper to the brief which the last visitor took with him. In the case of the brief on constitutional matters I see no reason why we should burden Sir Leslie with more than two sides.

2. My proposal is that we should use the brief

double spacing!) prepared for Lord Shepherd as the basis. However,

we would begin with the words "Much thought has been given

amending as I have done in pencil the last phrase of the first sentence and adding at the end as a second paragraph the last sentence of paragraph 2 of Lord Shepherd's brief. I see no need for more. My pencilled amendment referred to above takes up the wording used in the House of Commons by Mrs. Hart in April, 1967 and says all that there is to say about Hong Kong's special position.

W

(K.M. Wilford)

25 September, 1969

CONFIDENTIAL