TNAG-0376-FCO40-422-Discussions-with-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 2

रान

PS to Mr Royle

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REVIEW OF NATIONALITY LAW

1. Before Mr Royle sees Sir Murray MacLehose next week he

may wish to refresh his memory with the brief that Mr Scott

prepared three weeks ago (attached) and to know the latest

position.

2.

A further paper for consideration of Ministers has been

prepared, and is about to enter the final stages of editing

and production in the Cabinet Office. A meeting of GEN 139

has been called for 19 September, at which this paper will be

considered.

3. We have written a section of the draft paper summarising

the views of those Governors who have been consulted about the

proposed legislation. In this we report Sir Murray's strong

recommendation that there should be no change in the title of

citizenship for "colonial belongers" (ie that they should

continue to be called Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies).

We report that this recommendation is supported by some other

Governors, and deploy some other arguments in favour of it.

4. We have also established that it would be possible to

provide that people holding this citizenship other than by

connection with an existing colony (eg the UKPH in East Africa)

would not have the right to transmit it and that it would not

be necessary for this purpose to devise another description

for them. This removes one difficulty which was previously

advanced as an argument against Sir Murray's recommendation.

/5.

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