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5. It shall be lawful for the Governor in Council to Regulations make regulations :-
(a) for licensing and regulating ferries and ferry
vessels;
(b) for defining the conditions of any licence to be
issued under this Ordinance;
(e) for prescribing the fees rent or premium to be paid in respect of any licence to be issued under this Ordinance ;
(d) for declaring the areas to which section 3 of
this Ordinance is to apply;
(e) for excluding from the operation of this Ordi- nance any specified ferry or any ferry plying to or from any specified point or points within or without the Colony;
(f) for granting exclusive rights of maintaining
ferries;
(g) generally for the purposes of this Ordinance,
6. Every person who shall contravene any of the Offences. provisions of this Ordinance or of any regulation made under this Ordinance, and every person who shall contra- vene any of the provisions of any condition of any licence issued under this Ordinance, shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance.
7. Every person who shall be guilty of an offence Penalty. against this Ordinance shall be liable upon summary con- viction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.
8. Any police officer may seize any vessel which he Seizure of may reasonably suspect is being used to commit any offence ferry vessel. against this Ordinance and any vessel so seized may be detained by the Captain Superintendent of Police until the conclusion of any proceedings taken under this Ordinance and until the payment of any fine which may be imposed in such proceedings: Provided that the Captain Superin- tendent of Police may release any such vessel so seized upon security to his satisfaction being provided for the payment of any fiue which may be imposed in such proceedings.
9. This Ordinance shall not apply to any ferry main- Exemption. tained by the Star Ferry Company Limited between the pier situate opposite to Ice House Street, Victoria, and the pier situate at Kowloon Point and known as to its western portion as the "Star Ferry Pier" and as to its eastern portion as the "Railway Pier", nor shall it affect any rights conferred on the said Company by the terms of the lease to the said Company of the said pier situate opposite to Ice House Street aforesaid.
Objects and Reasons.
The object of this bill is to take power to regulate the ferries of the Colony, other than the present service of the Star Ferry Company Limited.
The main object is not revenue but the interests of the travelling public.
It is intended at present to deal only with the ferries between Victoria and Yaumati, Mong Kok Tsui and Sham Shui Po.
The proposed regulations relating to these ferries will be published with this bill,
19th September, 1917.
J. H. KEMP,
Attorney General.