TNAG-0327-FCO40-363-History-of-constitution-of-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 21

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Registry HKK 1/19 No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted. Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

LETTER

DRAFT

Type 1 +

To:- HE SW 1. Bachehose KEMF, MBE

The Governor

Hong Kong

FROM

E. 0. LAIRD

Telephone No. Ext.

Department

In Confidence

Scato

M

Legislative

FEO tel No

informed you reat days aar approved your proposal. ffroval.

Was

has not, as

J

a matte

law, bom smbodial i

tor constitutio

You wrote to me on 19 May asking if the

Department could consider the future of the

Chamber of Commerce and JP seats on the Legisla tive

Council. You wrote again on 19th and 23 May

forwarding letters from My P. G. Williams, Chairman

of the Chamber, on this subject.

2.

h As requited, the

did

↑

Research Department have done a good deal

the history of the practic

of work on this elrendy/a

and you will be gled te

hear that the weight of the evidence, with one

Lee park of below)

exception definitely supports the opinion of

the practic

Denys Roberts that there is no foundation in low.

for the practice of calling for nominations to the

Legislative Council from the JPS and the Chamber of

Commerce,

1

3. The intention of the Governor, Sir George

Bowen,

in 1883-4 in putting this sytem into effect

was, as you so rightly surmised, to give Hong Kong

a semblance of "popular election" without the

disadvantages which were usually held to accompany

it; in doing this he was following the earlier

precedents of Ceylon and Mauritius.

Chamber of Commerce on 11 May 1883: "I have

He told the

satisfied myself that the present consitution of

the Legislative Council of this Colony is wholly

(16413) Dd.244353 100m 6/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863