TNAG-0309-FCO40-345-Contributions-of-Hong-Kong-for-costs-of-maintaining-military-1971 — Page 59

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8. Under the Hong Kong Royal Instructions

the Governor is obliged first to submit

a proposal such as a defence contribution

to his Executive Council and he may only

act contrary to the advice given to him

by the members of the Council subject to

reference of the matter in question to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary;

me

thereafter, any proposals must be approved

by the Finance Committee of the Legislative

Council and finally by the Legislative

Council as a whole. The balance of

Official and Unofficial membership of the

Legislative Council is such that the Governor

is in theory able to pass legislation

if he is prepared to use both his original

and casting votes. There have been no

precedents for/such use of the Governor's

vote in recent years and its use, particularly

potentially explosive

on such an unpopular issue as that of the

defence contribution, can be expected not And

may

only to provoke disorders in the Colony.

new but also to embitter relations between

Hong Kong and HMG for a long time to come.

9.

Alternatively, the necessary

legislation could be enacted by

prerogative Order in Council made under

the power reserved by Article IX of the

Hong Kong Letters Patent. (This would

avoid the build up of tension in the

Colony during the passage of the necessary

Appropriation Bill). There is no

י

Parliamentary procedure for the making of

such an Order, but once it became known

that the Order had been made a Member of

/Parliament

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