120
Height of buildings in rural districts.
Concrete- blocks and hollow walls.
Thickness of short walls.
Thickness of wall in Shanghai
as compared
with Hongkong.
Materials for walls in rural districts,
Workmen to Occupy house
in course of construction.
Supply of skilled labour.
Effect of guilds on labour.
Tribunal for labour disputes.
*74. We also recommend that the present restriction on the height of buildings in rural districts to 35 feet be removed, subject to the Building Authority retaining the right to object to the design or external appearance of the building (see letter (8) in Enclosure 1, and evidence of Mr. Jackman and Mr. White in Enclosures 8 (5) and (3) respectively).
* 75. In letter (3) in Enclosure 1, it is suggested that concrete-blocks with a hollow space in them, can be fitted together with much less labour than ordinary bricks, and the cheapness, dryness and coolness of hollow external walls are emphasized in letter (22) in the same enclosure. Upon this question of hollow walls, Mr. Jackman and Mr. White were of the opinion that there was no objection to such hollow walls, if they were properly sealed with cement-concrete. We recommend that the matter be carefully gone into by the Public Works Department.
* 76. In letter (8) in Enclosure 1, the suggestion is made that walls of short length and built in cement mortar may safely be of less thickness than is at present required by law. Mr. Jackman and Mr. White concurred in this view, which we support.
77. Mr. Lain Woo in his evidence (Enclosure 8 (2)) pointed out that in Shanghai a less thickness of wall is required than in Hongkong, but the Acting Director of Public Works seemed to think that severer condi- tions of wind and weather exist in Hongkong than in Shanghai, and conse- quently the greater thickness was desirable here. We concur in the latter view.
78. It is suggested in letter (24) in Enclosure 1, that for one-storey and two-storey houses in rural districts a mixture of cement, lime and decomposed granite might be allowed for walls; and Mr. White agreed, but added that, in such a case, proper supervision would be required during construction.
79. The question of allowing workmen to occupy the ground-floor of Chinese tenement-houses when the building is erected up to the second-floor, so as to speed up the building operation and save some rents, is dealt with in para. 24 (3).
80. The question of securing an adequate supply of skilled labour for the building trade is important, because it affects not only the building development of the Colony, but also the cost of buildings. In paras. 24 and 25 we have made recommendations with the view of obtaining a sufficient supply of such labourers by providing them with sufficient and cheap housing accommodation.
81. One of the most serious obstacles to the supply of labour appears to be the large entrance-fees demanded of new members by some of the local guilds, thus debarring newcomers from the country (see letter (10) in Enclosure 1). We may add that it is stated in letter (40) that labour obtain- ed from the guilds is considerably dearer than that from outside sources. The influence of guilds on the building development of the Colony is also referred to in letters (24) and (41).
* 82. We strongly urge the Government, in the interests of all branches of trade in this Colony, to pass a law for the reference to a strong and inde- pendent tribunal, with one representative of the employers and one represen- tative of the workmen as assessors, of all disputes in this Colony relating to wages to be paid to workmen, hours of employment and holidays. Such a law is clearly desirable in the interests of workmen, no less than in those of employers, for it is of the utmost importance to the former to know that they have a definite tribunal to which they can appeal with the full certainty of their grievances being gone into without delay and without any cessation of wages such as is involved in a strike. In the course of his Report for the year 1922, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs remarks (at page 13): “The general strike was largely a matter of the intimidation of willing workers".