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particular he agreed that the requirement to keep 100% cover for Hong Kong's currency was not a statutory one, and was largely a matter of confidence which might be over-stated. Nevertheless Sir Murray could not afford to take Mr Haddon-Cave's advice lightly. He would be responsible if things went wrong and the results would be very serious. While he remained convinced that there was no alternative to pressing ahead with his development plans, particularly in housing, education and health, he felt concerned at his own lack of financial expertise and weight. It was for this reason that he had suggested, while he was in England, that the next Governor should perhaps be someone of the calibre of Lord Cromer who could direct the financial affairs of the colony with the authority of his own expertise and experience. 4.
The unease of the middle-rank civil servants was expressed to me forcibly on several occasions, perhaps because I seemed the most easily accessible member of the Diplomatic Service. The thesis of these officers was that the Hong Kong Government was being pushed too far and too fast both in its development programmes and with the reorganisation of the Civil Service. implied that the fault was the Governor's, who did not understand how a colonial government was run and had pressed forward without
the agreement of his advisers.
5.
They
This is grotesquely unfair and I told them so. I have no doubt at all that the Governor's policies have the support of the vast majority of the people of Hong Kong and of the more intelligent of the expatriate civil servants. What has happened is that a number of rather complacent people have been forced to run rather harder and, in some cases to change their jobs. There is perhaps a grain of truth in the complaint that they have not been consulted. But this is largely a matter of style. Colonial civil servants do not readily answer Governors back. They also find the present Governor rather intimidating. I have watched them, when the Governor has put a particular proposal forward, sitting and saying nothing, even when I know they do not agree.
6.
The Governor is also having continued trouble with LegCo and ExCo, particularly the new members. He is reasonably confident that he can hold the position on the death penalty for the time
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CONFIDENTIAL
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