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Q.-I am afraid I must refer you to your Architect or your legal adviser. law. Do you think that is a hardship? Dont ask us what the law is, but the law is hard, tell us so.
2450, 1
That is the if you think
A. Yes, that is a hardship. I dont say the law is a hardship, but I will tell you what I mean. There is a space of 15 feet, then you dont need to have it open to the sky. If the lane at the back though is a Government lane, then you have to have it opened up, but how is it that the Government might cannot be borrowed for the people? What damage could they do to it ?
The Chairman. We are very glad indeed to have your views on the subject.
A. There is no damage done by it.
Q.-You dont see why the people should not have the benefit of the Government air?
A. Yes.
Q.—Alright, we are very glad to have that.
Mr. Humphreys.—I should like to ask him to sec whether that particular section of the Ordinance has cost him a large sum of money?
A. Yes.
Q. How much?
The Interpreter. He has got something more to say about this.
A. I dont want you to take what I lost, but I want you to take what the public lost.
The Chairman. That is quite right, Mr. Li.
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Mr. Humphreys. He can only speak as to facts.
He can only speak for himself.
A.-There was a piece of land that I was agent for a friend about it. It is 100 feet square. It is at Yaumati, and this sile is in Temple Street. That side (indicating) is a hillside. But on the Government lane, there is a land of 50 feet, but they have not laid it out yet.
Mr. Shelton Hooper. When he says "laid out" he means they have not surfaced the road?
Mr. Lau Chu Pak.-When he bought it, there was a hill there, and according to the conditions, the road will be cut.
A. Now it is being dug out. What I am to tell you, is what happened several years ago, before it was cut down. The plan of erection was six shops on this plot of ground facing the street. Then a lane was made at the back, 50 feet wide.. Well, the shops ought to have been made facing the hill. The Government take down the ground, but the Government did not take it down, so the shops had to face the same way as the others. I had six of those shops, but there were 30 altogether in the street. Then the Sanitary Board required that open spaces should be made, open to the sky. I replied, I argued with the Sanitary Board. I wrote to them. I said that we really should not be required to have open spaces, open to the sky, if the Government would dig away the road. Then the chief entrance would be towards the hill side. I was unwilling to make those open spaces. I got no answer. But the 30 shops all did that, and so it was an injury to the people.