4.
The proposals of the ad hoc committee
of the Urban Council (Annex B) for a two-tier
system consisting of a single Municipal Council
with jurisdiction extending over the entire
Colony and subordinate District Councils, must
be regarded as unacceptable. It is an old
ambition, but there is not room in a territory
no bigger than a "city state" for two co-
terminous authorities.
Moreover, there is
little chance that the proposals would find
acceptance in the New Territories.
5. The Official Working Party's Report (Annex C) was not intended as a blue print for immediate action; its main purpose was to examine the possible lines of development.
Its proposals for the establishment of two or
three Municipal Councils for Hong Kong Island
and Kowloon, and an Urban District Council for
Tsuen Wan are clearly unacceptable to the
Governor for the reasons given in his telegram No. 457, which undoubtedly have substance.
6.
It is no doubt largely for these reasons that the Dickinson Report (Annex D) leaves
untouched the area of jurisdiction of the
present Urban Council and has proposed only
one new creation, that of a Local Authority for
Tsuen Wan. Although there is something to be
said for the creation of separate local author- ities for Hong Kong Island and Kowloon as a long-term objective, there are no pressing
reasons for doing this at the present time.
In the circumstances it is possibly better at
this stage to err on the side of caution.
7. The Report of the Select Committee of the Urban Council (Annex E) was published in March, 1969. The members of the Select Committee
/were
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