TNAG-0432-FCO40-497-Administration-of-government-of-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 21

CONFIDENTIAL

3.

(a)

(b)

it could be said that the tenor of Article 2 of the Royal Instructions is that there will in normal circumstances be a Colonial Secretary holding that office alone.

The voting balance in the Legislative Council would be upset.

I do not see (b) as any objection, as the voting balance is often upset by temporary absences, and naturally the two offices of Governor and Colonial Secretary could not be combined in a period of legislative or political tension in which use of the Official majority might arise though I cannot conceive of an acting Governor getting himself into a situation that required use of the official majority.

I find it difficult to assess (a). But it does not strike me as of any real signifi- cance given that the period is short and merely reproduces the position that arises if I catch flu, or take a day or two at Fanling out of the office. So I think (a) is no objection in theory, and could be accepted provided Unofficials did not object and it was not a subject of controversy.

I must apologise for a long letter about a rather small subject. Would you please let me know, preferably by telegram, whether you agree to my sounding out Unofficials and acting as proposed, at any rate in June, provided they see no objection?

Y-

Ma

CONFIDENTIAL