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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 1st October 1971.
THE HONOURABLE LEE QUO-WEI, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE GERALD MORDAUNT BROOME SALMON, JP
THE HONOURABLE LO KWEE-SEONG, OBE, JP
ABSENT
DR THE HONOURABLE CHUNG SZE-YUEN, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE OSWALD VICTOR CHEUNG, QC, JP THE HONOURABLE ANN TSE-KAI, OBE, JP
IN ATTENDANCE
THE CLERK OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MR RODERICK JOHN FRAMPTON
Proclamation
Proclamation read pursuant to Standing Order No 6(1).
Governor's Speech
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR : --Honourable Members of the Legislative Council, I welcome you to the opening meeting of this Session.
Since this is the last opening meeting at which I shall be addressing you, I am, I hope excusably, more inclined today to cast my mind back over the years than to attempt to forecast future policies which will shortly cease to be my responsibility. The Colonial Secretary will, I understand, be saying something about these later during the course of this opening meeting. In any case, a measure of stocktaking from time to time is perhaps no bad thing-as one day follows another, it is not easy to appreciate properly the progress we are making; but com- parisons with a few years ago illuminate what in fact has been achieved with much greater clarity.
Physical change, of course, has been obvious and often dramatic. The opening of the Plover Cove reservoir has meant that, after four years without water rationing, we have almost forgotten the crisis of 1963-64, when a fleet of ocean-going tankers brought water from the Pearl River and water rationing was down to four hours every fourth day. For this change, indeed, we have to thank the foresight of our predecessors. In 1964 Wah Fu Estate was only on the drawing board, Statue Square was a car park, the now conspicuous fly-overs had not appeared, and the Ocean Terminal was still under construction.
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