TNAG-0280-FCO40-316-Visit-of-Parliamentary-under-Secretary-of-Foreign-and-Common-1970 — Page 83

CYPHER CATIA

ROUTINE/

HỒNG KONG

TELEGRAM NUMBER 457

مافيا

TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

10 JULY 1970

CONFIDENTIAL

FOR MONSON.

YOUR LETTER OF 26 JUNE: LOCAL COVERNMENT.

THE IDEA OF A NUMBER OF LOCAL BODIES OF A MUNICIPAL COUNCIL NATURE IS OF COURSE THE PATTERN WHICH FIRST.OCCURS TO ONE IN

CONSIDERING THE PROBLEM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT HERE. IT WAS INDEED

WHAT I MYSELF HAD BROADLY IN MIND WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TO

STUDY THE PROBLEM. ON EXAMINATION, HOWEVER, THIS CONCEPT

HAD TO BE ABANDONED AT LEAST FOR THE PRESENT.

2.

BRIEFLY THE REASONS ARE:-

(1) THE WHOLE COLONY IS SO COMPACT AND CLOSELY INTEGRATED POLITICALLY, GEOGRAPHICALLY, COMMERCIALLY AND ADMINISTRATIVELY

THAT THERE ARE REALLY NO MARKED REGIONAL VARIATIONS SUCH AS

WOULD JUSTIFY OTHER THAN THE MOST MINOR VARIATIONS OF POLICY,

AT LOCAL OPTION, BETWEEN REGION AND REGION. THE INEVITABLE LOSS

OF EFFICIENCY RESULTING FROM A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF LOCAL

COUNCILS WOULD NOT BE BALANCED BY ANY COMPENSATING ADVANTAGES.

(11) EVEN WITH CONSIDERABLE EXTENSION OF THE FRANCHISE WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ORDER TO PRODUCE A SIGNIFICANT ELECTORATE

IN EACH OF A NUMBER OF DISTRICTS ( NOT IN ITSELF NECESSARILY

UNDESIRABLE) ONE IS FORCED TO WONDER WHAT THE TOTAL VOTE IN

EACH DISTRICT WOULD BE WHEN ONLY ABOUT 10,000 OUT OF POSSIBLE PRESENT POTENTIAL NUMBER OF ELECTORS OF AT LEAST 300,000

EVER IN FACT EXERCISE THEIR VOTE.

111) A SUPERFICIALLY ATTRACTIVE PARTIAL REGIONALIZATION MIGHT BE ACHIEVED BY HAVING A HONG KONG ISLAND COUNCIL, A KOWLOON AND NEW KOWLOON (INCLUDING KWUN TONG) COUNCIL, AND FORMING COUNCILS STAGE BY STAGE IN THE NEW TERRITORIES NEW TOWNS (KWAI CHUNG, CASTLE PEAK AND SHATIN) AS THEY DEVELOP, BUT:-

(A) VICTORIA, KOWLOON AND NEW KOWLOON ARE REALLY ONE URBAN AREA

/IN

CONFIDENTIAL