ENG-1956 — Page 350

Chapter 25: Constitution and Administration

CONSTITUTION

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, which is presided over by the Governor, 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 Secre- tary. There is one nominated official member. The six un- officials 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 Council (i.e. 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

1