Extract from letter to Hong Kong
Ong.
Constitutional Development..
-31-7-64 Page 135 of 34463 CONFIDENTIAL.
FED 150/L02/02
We were glad to learn that public opinion in the Colony is on the whole favourable to the new Legislative Council appointments. There has been no reaction in parliamentary circles here; we had thought that at least Dr Bray night have sparked.
It is indeed a step in the right direction that members of the Council should be concerned to consider how to improve and enliven proceedings. We take your point of course that it is necessary to proceed fairly slowly in changing the customary arrangements that have governed the meetings of the Council.
A debate on the Report on Resettlement and Low-Cost Housing would certainly offer a good opportunity for a full and frank discussion of policy on the lines we would all wish to sce. The subject of housing requires a good public airing, in order to dispel the widespread public misunder- standing, in Hong Kong-and clsewhere, of the scope of the problem and of the difficulties in providing a solution. X
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Extract from letter
ong.
વ
dated at July, from Hang
FED 150/40r/er.
age 139 of 34 tonal Development.
462 CONFIRENZO AR4
I have delayed writing to you again, following upon my letter of 27th April, until I could make some pre- liminary assessment at least of the reactions to the new Legislative Council appointments. On the whole the comments have been fairly favourable, and the appointments appear to have been quite well received. I expected criticism of course from the Reform Club and the Civic Association, but these organizations have been so busy licking their wounds after the defeat of their nominee by Solomon Rafeek, an independent, at the recent Urban Council bye-election in which some 10% only of registered voters turned out, that they have not had much spirit (or ammunition) left for in- dignation. The "Standard" did its best to drum up some unfavourable comment from the man in the street, but was honest enough to report that it had not had much luck. S.N. Chau has so far kept quiet. Although doubtless he is not very happy at not having one of his particular proteges selected, he may be finding P.Y Tang difficult to criticize openly. On the whole, therefore, I think the appointments have passed off as well as could be hoped for.
Sir
In my last letter, I briefly mentioned the importance of the new Council livening up its proceedings a bit, if enlargement was to be meaningful. There are some hopeful signs that similar thoughts which I have been trying gently to encourage, may be gaining acceptance amongst members. We have had quite a few questions asked in recent meetings, and even one supplementary ! Furthermore, the idea is gaining ground that the customary Budget debate is going to be inexpressibly tedious if all 13 unofficial members range over their pet subjects, and have to be answered, on this one occasion; and that it would be better if opportunities were made on 3 or 4 selected occasions throughout the year for some of this speech-making to be got through. This is a
slightly odd way of approaching the matter but I do not mind how members arrive at it, so long as they can be persuaded to see that (without over-doing it) some important matters are better aired in public than discussed only in the privacy of the Finance Committee.
An opportunity for a debate of the kind I
should like to see held occasionally may arise when the
An from Report on Resettlement and Low-Cost Housing comes forward,
which I sincerely hope will be reasonably soon. There is no
ん
molle reason to my mind why this Report, and Government's intentions
regarding it, should not be presented to Council on an
innocuously worded motion that the two together be accepted
las a guide to future policy, or some such, and a widely
ranging debate on housing follow: with members making whatever
suggestions or criticisms they wish to make while still accepting the motion. I cannot yet say for sure, however, whether some.procedure of this kind will prove to be acceptable
to members.
All this is very elementary; but because it
is rather new to Hong Kong, and because the Colonial Secretariat is neither geared to a more active Legislative Council nor are members (official as well as unofficial) used to anything but the present stereotyped proceedings, it is necessary to pro- ceed slowly: not that it is ever wise to rush things of this kind here.
A difficulty may lie in the "alternate Wed- nesday" system of holding meetings. If the proceedings in Council do get more active, this system allows the Secretariat little time to prepare between meetings. We may possibly Page 3 of 344think about going on to a more normal spagem 36fof 344
longer meetings 2 or 3 times a year; but it is still too early to say whether this change is likely to be eithe
necessary or desirable and I am no more than keeping it in mind.
!!
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