- 2
7. The necessary amendments to Standing Orders were then drafted and a Resolution was moved in the Legislative Council by the Attorney General on 27th July. A copy of his speech, which describes the main amendments and the reasons for them in some detail, is at Annex D and a copy of the Resolution itself is at Annex E.
You will see the Attorney General stressed that there was no special significance in the substitution of "Hong Kong" for "the Colony".
8.
Unfortunately, the local press (and foreign correspondents based here) in their determination to link any move made by the Government at this time to the question of the future, decided to read far more significance into this very minor amendment to Standing Orders than they knew was ever intended.
9.
As for the agency report that note-issuing banks are considering removing the word "Colony" from their (new) banknotes, this stemmed from a passing comment made recently in a speech by a senior official of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and answers to some press questions given by the head of the Chartered Bank here, but this matter is (or is about to be) the subject of quite separate correspondence with you.
10. I am sorry we did not think of sending you a copy of the Working Party's report in advance. Frankly, we regarded the whole thing as a pretty basic exercise and so did Unofficials, but the Richard Hughes story, I can well understand, must have made you wonder what on earth was going on! I shall make sure that, in future, the results of any exercises of a procedural/organisational nature, no matter how routine, which might conceivably be over-terpreted are sent off to you as soon as possible.
2
Young ever,
Jilij
(Philip Haddon-Cave)
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.