high that those who manage to evade their taxes are looked upon with grudging admiration. In Hong Kong, where the level of taxation is very low, let them be looked upon with scorn.
Turning now to the discussion of a more general matter, as is customarily permitted to each of us on this occasion, I can at least claim that in referring to the structure of the administrative machine, I have been consistent. As I have said so often before, there is a need -a vital need-for a change in the administration structure. Even if there were not demonstrable inefficiency, it would surely seem ques- tionable that a system which was designed to meet a Victorian situation is adequate for our present circumstances, far less for the future which faces us. Indeed one ought to say that our system of Government was not really designed or planned at all. I have heard it said that it grew up as an off-shoot of bureaucratic processes to meet various practical requirements. Like Topsy, it just grew and grew. But Topsy is a big girl now and it is about time she was given a proper shape-painful though some of the foundation garments may be.
The question is where the impetus is to come from. The events of 1967 led, as we know, to some make-shift reorganization, partic- ularly within the Colonial Secretariat, to make sure that Government, to some extent at least, could meet the challenges which faced it. I still think there is much room for improvement in the functions of Departments and in their co-ordination. I still think—and not un- naturally, as an Unofficial Member of this Council-that greater use should be made of Unofficial Members, of their advice and their help.
As you, Sir, will fully appreciate, nothing I have been saying in any way suggests a constitutional change. For one thing I would con- sider it pointless to explore new processes when we have by no means. exhausted, in fact we have hardly tapped, the resources of our existing constitution. As you know, Sir, some of my Colleagues and I were able, during the past year, to assist in the examination of problems which arose from the local communist confrontation and which de- manded from us, as a Government, a response which, in the strict interpretation of the functions of Government Departments, was im- proper. However, we found that a great deal could be done when one was not inhibited by purely bureaucratic niceties on the one hand, and if on the other hand one clearly recognized the need for some- body to do something in any given field. These are examples for present, and unusual, circumstances. However, I myself have had the privilege for some time of working on one particular sub-committee with officials of the Establishment Branch, where experience has shown that our participation in the ordinary business of Government can be both productive and helpful. I only wish that opportunities could be found to enlist our assistance in other fields.
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