ENG-1955 — Page 277

Constitution

Chapter 25: Administration

The principal features of the constitution are prescribed in Letters Patent, which provide for a Governor, an Executive Council, and a Legislative Council. Royal Instructions to the Governor, supplemented by further Instructions from the Sovereign conveyed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, prescribe the membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils.

The Executive Council consists of five ex-officio and seven nominated members. The ex-officio members are the Commander, British Forces; the Colonial Secretary; the Attorney-General; the Secretary for Chinese Affairs; and the Financial Secretary. Up to June 1955 there was one nominated official member. The six unofficials include three Chinese members and one Portuguese member.

The main function of the Executive Council is to advise the Governor, who must consult its members on all important matters. The responsibility for deciding questions which come before the Council, and for taking action, rests with the Governor, who is required to report his reasons fully to the Secretary of State if he acts in opposition to the advice given by members. The Governor-in-Executive Council is also given power, under numerous ordinances, to make subsidiary legislation by way of rules, regulations and orders. A further function of the Council is to consider appeals and petitions under certain ordinances.

The same five ex-officio members of the Executive Council serve also on the Legislative Council, of which the Governor is the President. In addition, there are four other official members, at present the Directors of the Public Works, Urban Services, Medical and Education Departments, and eight unofficial members nominated by the Governor. These include four Chinese members and one Portuguese member.

The laws of the Colony are enacted by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, which controls finance and expenditure through its Standing Finance