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Notes of a meeting held at 9.30 a.m. on 27th January, 1964, in the Urban Council Chamber, between Unofficial Members of the Urban Council and Dr. J.D. Higham, C.M.G., Head of the Far Eastern Department, Colonial Office.
Present:
:
+
Ir. J.D. Higham, C.M.G.
Hon. K.3. Kinghorn, Chairman, Urban Council.
lir. B... Bernacchi, Q.c.
Dr. R.H.S. Lee, 0.B..
Dr. P.F. Woo.
fr. H. Cheong-Leen.
Ir. . de 0. Sales, 0.B.E.
Ir. X.... Watson, 0.B.2.
lir. Wilfred S.B. Wong.
Mr. Wilson T.5. Wang.
ir. K.S. Lo.
lir. Cheung Wing-in.
Mrs. E. Elliott.
The Chairman, Urban Council attended the meeting at
the invitation of the Unofficial Members.
MR. B... BERNACCHI, Q.C. raised the following points:-
(i) That the Urban Council had no jurisdiction in the
New Territories. Referring to the relationship between the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, he deplored the arrangement whereby the department performed duties in areas outside the Council's jurisdiction. In this connection, it was certainly anomalous that while the franchise embraced schoolteachers in the New Territories, and they there- fore voted in Urban Council elections, the Council had no jurisdiction over the area where they worked and resided. Either the Urban Council should be given jurisdiction in the New Territories or there should be some other change in the present arrangements - that is, there should be a separate Rural Services Department, or the work should be done by a sub- department of the New Territories Administration.
(ii) That the time had come when the Urban Council should
have more unofficial members. The Elected Members had agreed with the Appointed Members that the present parity between Elected and Appointed Members should be maintained meantime. He had no objection to this at present but pointed out that the 1960 Memorandum presented to the Colonial Office advocated that the Urban Council should be an entirely elected body. This was a matter for the future, but it should be noted that Lord Perth had agreed in 1960 to a measure of constitutional reform, yet the position still remained as it was at that time.
(iii) Over-preponderance of school teachers in the electoral roll. Because of the smallness of the electoral roll, whichever candidate had the teachers' vote was sure to win an election. This was constitutionally wrong. To correct it, the electoral roll should be increased to 100,000 - 200,000. A resolution had been passed in the Urban Council some years ago supported by the appointed Unofficials that a committee be appointed to study ways of enlarging the electorate, but this had been turned down by the Government.
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