The effective block was however contained in the Dickinson Report itself which, although signed unanimously, contained two Notes of Reservation by four of the six signatories. An undogmatic report in which only the chairman and one other seemed wholeheartedly to believe was easily left on one side.
The officer who admired the Urban Council subscribed to the spirit of the report but was unhappy with the possible division of the colony into as many as nine council areas within a single command span, without an intervening tier, in that tier he saw a future for a widened Urban Council, in the oversight of the fledglings. He preferred a gentle step by step evolution, taking into account Hong Kong's present lack of talent and expertise in administration, the need not to offend traditional institutions and loyalties, Chinese unfamiliarity with elections, and public suspicion of all uncharted changes. He did not co-ordinate his note with the other semi-dissenters.
The Chinese officer and the two with a general Hong Kong administrative background thought that the report provided a sound basis for citizen participation; but because of its reliance on the ballot box they doubted widespread public acceptance and goodwill, and whether it would attract the best candidates instead of unscrupulous or corrupt power-seekers. If the Urban Council could not attract heavy registration or electoral turn-outs, nor substantial numerical following among ordinary citizens (a picture which most of those who had never served with the USD recognised), how much less would the new authorities? They pointed to a recent UK National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO, in modern times absorbed into the public services trades union UNISON) submission recommending abolition of small local authorities and restriction of British local government to regional councils with policy powers only, thus giving wider executive powers to their officials, the union's members. This was bolstered by the Note of Reservation's confidence in a Chinese pattern of strong bureaucratic control disciplined by strict moral principles. They too therefore sought a step by step approach, through a preliminary more determined tapping and usage of the known valuable reserves of respected, able and public-spirited true community leaders who were, they said, at present rarely found among the government's nominated or appointed councils. They wished to see greater decentralisation of government departments (already implemented in
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The effective block was however contained in the Dickinson Report itself which, although signed unanimously, contained two Notes of Reservation by four of the six signatories. An undogmatic report in which only the chairman and one other seemed wholeheartedly to believe was easily left on one side.
The officer who admired the Urban Council subscribed to the spirit of the report but was unhappy with the possible division of the colony into as many as nine council areas within a single command span, without an intervening tier, in that tier he saw a future for a widened Urban Council, in the oversight of the fledglings. He preferred a gentle step by step evolution, taking into account Hong Kong's present lack of talent and expertise in administration, the need not to offend traditional institutions and loyalties, Chinese unfamiliarity with elections, and public suspicion of all uncharted changes. He did not co-ordinate his note with the other semi-dissenters.
The Chinese officer and the two with a general Hong Kong administrative background thought that the report provided a sound basis for citizen participation; but because of its reliance on the ballot box they doubted widespread public acceptance and goodwill, and whether it would attract the best candidates instead of unscrupulous or corrupt power-seekers. If the Urban Council could not attract heavy registration or electoral turn-outs, nor substantial numerical following among ordinary citizens (a picture which most of those who had never served with the USD recognised), how much less would the new authorities? They pointed to a recent UK National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO, in modern times absorbed into the public services trades union UNISON) submission recommending abolition of small local authorities and restriction of British local government to regional councils with policy powers only, thus giving wider executive powers to their officials, the union's members. This was bolstered by the Note of Reservation's confidence in a Chinese pattern of strong bureaucratic control disciplined by strict moral principles. They too therefore sought a step by step approach, through a preliminary more determined tapping and usage of the known valuable reserves of respected, able and public-spirited true community leaders who were, they said, at present rarely found among the government's nominated or appointed councils They wished to see greater decentralisation of government departments (already implemented in
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