The director in point of fact sits in the Council and constitutes a permanent Chinese majority. The result has been that the director has had absolute autocratic control.
Speaking from my own personal experience I have received correspondence saying I will permit thi sill not allow that,' without any suerestion of reference othe meil. I think any member of] the Council will confirm my statement in this respect.
The director of course could al-} ways enforce his whether it was tasteful or distasteful to. members of the Coune That is covered in the second revolution, together with the fa: t that by the present Chen-O'Malley Agreement, the director is the man who engages the stof.
In seven months we have had five [changes of director and every time the director changes, the staff changes. The second part of the resolution asks that the staff shall be subject only to the discipline of the Council (applause).
The third resolution asks that the police and other officers under the control of the Council here should be free to exercise their functions apart from the various ragtag and Ddobtail of military flowing into the Jconcession, and, if they are not, that His Majesty's Government should be prepared to land forces from time to time to see that this is effected and to give us proper protection (applause). These are the three resolutions which we put to you ard suggest that these should go to the! Government s resolutions of this The fourth resolution is not one! essential for the Government but it is germane to the subject and we! make it as a recommendation to the! ratepayers. Whether a trained foreign staff is engaged on the Council not is entirely for the ratepayers to decide. 'There is nothing in the Chen-O'Malley Agreement to stop it fand there is everything in the rate-Payers' hands. They can say You Jean have money provided we have a competent staff on the Council, and we will provide money only for a trained permanent stof.
We have placed this on the agenda as it is bound up with the some question of municipal administration here."
The Resolutions Mr. Peacock then put the Resolutions, as Zollaws:—
1.—That His Majesty's Government be asked to present a strong formal demand to the Nationalist Government that all troops now. occupying Municipal and private properties be forthwith removed and not in the future be allowed legally to occupy properties in this Municipal area. "Failing com-Plianco with such demands, that His Majesty's Government shoutd itself take the necessary steps to eject the military and other trespassers, 2.—That His Majesty's Gover ment be asked to press the Ni loyalist Government for a sound implementation of the Chen-O'Malley Agreement in the spin fu which it was negotiated, that is, us sound Municipality as the! one it succeeded, free in Municipal matters from political interference or coercion.
Accordingly, that the Chen-O'Malley Agreement revised so that the Dirvetor is not a member of the Council but exercises only functions similar to those exercised by His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General in the former' British Concession, and that all employees of the Council engaged. by and subject only to the discipline of the Council.
3.—This His Majesty's Government be asked to notify the Nationalist Government that the! police and other authorities in the Special Administration District must be free to exercise the proper functions free from military or othen interference and that His Majesty's Government should see that this is so, and afford its full support to the Municipal authorities in this respect; failing such proper mai tenance of Municipal law and order that His Majesty's Government reserves. the right itself to! take the necessary steps to enforce it and from time to time to land forees for this purpose.
4.—That the ratepayers them-elves should make it a condition' of the next Budget vote that reasonable number of competent fully qualified foreigners be employed by the Council on its staff.
The foregoing resolutions were carried without a dissentient four persons subsequently took ad-[vantage of the opportunity given to disassociate themselves from the communication to the Foreizn Office [containing the resolutions.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.