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15th December, 1948.
PRESENT: —
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR (SIR ALEXANDER WILLIAM GEORGE HERDER GRANTHAM, K.C.M.G.)
THE HONOURABLE THE OFFICER COMMANDING THE TROOPS (BRIGADIER ARTHUR DE BURGH MORRIS, D.S.O., O.B.E.)
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY (HON. D. M. MACDOUGALL, C. M. G.) THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (HON. J. B. GRIFFIN, K.C.)
THE SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS (HON. R. R. TODD).
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY (HON. C. G. S. FOLLOWS, C. M. G.)
HON. V. KENNIFF (Director of Public Works).
DR. HON. J. P. FEHILY, O.B.E. (Chairman, Urban Council).
DR. HON. G. H. THOMAS, O.B.E. (Acting Director of Medical Services). HON. D. F. LANDALE.
HON. CHAU TSUN-NIN, C. B. E.
HON. SIR MAN-KAM LO, KT., C.B.E.
DR. HON. CHAU SIK-NIN.
HON. LEO D'ALMADA, K.C.
HON. M. M. WATSON.
HON. P. S. CASSIDY.
MR. J. L. HAYWARD (Deputy Clerk of Councils).
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MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 1st December, 1948, were confirmed.
OATHS.
The Honourable the Officer Commanding the Troops (Brigadier Arthur de Burgh Morris, D.S.O., O.B.E.) took the Oath of Allegiance and assumed his seat as a Member of the Council.
PAPERS.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following paper: —
Annual Report of the Controller of Stores for the year 1946-47.
DR. HON. J. P. FEHILY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following paper: —
Sessional Papers, 1948: —
No. 7. —Report of the Committee appointed by H.E. the Governor to consider control measures to be adopted against rabies.
He said: Sir, I am in a position to state that, after careful study, Government accepts in principle the majority report and, in due course, will ask Finance Committee for the necessary funds and will present to this Council proposals for legislation found to be necessary to give effect to the recommendations of the Report.
ANNOUNCEMENT.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR: —Honourable Members, later this afternoon the Attorney General will move the First reading of the Hong Kong Defence Force Bill, and it is on this and the Volunteers that I wish to address you. Volunteering has a long history in this Colony, extending over nearly 100 years, and it is an essential part of the civic life of the Hong Kong citizen. Before the war, the volunteers consisted of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and the Hong Kong Naval Volunteer Force. The former comprised seven companies of Infantry, five batteries of Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Field Ambulance, Army Service Corps, Nursing Detachment, Railway Detachment, and an Air Arm. The total strength was some 900 of all ranks. The Naval Force, which had the Sloop H.M.S. “Cornflower”, totalled 380. Both the Volunteer Defence Corps and the Naval Force were commanded by volunteers until the latter part of 1938, when the Corps was commanded by a regular officer. The command of the Naval Force remained with a civilian. On the 8th December, 1941, the outbreak of the Pacific War, the organisation of these two bodies was much the same, but the numbers had increased considerably. The total strength of the Volunteer Defence Corps was 2,200, and of the Naval Volunteer Force 800.
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Both the Corps and the Force acquitted themselves during the fighting in a manner in which every Hong Kong citizen is justifiably proud, but there were certain flaws and weaknesses in the old organisation. Under the Dew proposals, the main features of which I am now going to give you, it is believed that we have profited by our experience, and that the new Force will not only be a worthy successor to the old Corps and the old Naval Force, but will be even better.
You may have noted that I used the words the new "Force", for it is intended that there shall be one Force embracing all three arms of the Service, that is, Naval, Military and Air, together with an Essential Services arm, including Civil Defence should the need arise. The Hong Kong Defence Force will be made up of six components; the Naval Force, that is the old Naval Volunteer Force, the Hong Kong Regiment, which is the old Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, the Hong Kong Air Force, an expansion of the Air Arm of the former Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, the Hong Kong Auxiliary Force, which itself will be divided into two wings, one wing, which I may call the Home Guard Wing, will be a combination of a Reserve and a Home Guard, such as they had in Britain during the war. This wing will consist mainly of former members of the Hong Kong Regiment, the Naval Force and the Air Force who have served their time, or are over-age. The members will, therefore, be fully trained. The other unit will be the Essential Services wing. This is primarily intended for those persons who wish to serve the community but who are unable, from the nature of their employment, to give in peace time and when everything is quiet, all the time that is required for membership of the Hong Kong Regiment, the Naval or the Air Forces. They will, therefore, not be trained, but training will be available for those members who desire it. They will normally not be armed. It can readily be envisaged that they will be extremely useful in support of the Police in times of civil disturbance. In the unhappy event of war they could, in whole or in part—for remember this branch of the wing embraces civil defence such as fire fighting, —be called up and trained for the Regiment or other units of the Force. Then there will be the Hong Kong Women's Volunteer Force. This again will be a combined unit of essential workers and of women members of the three Services. And finally, there will be the Headquarters Force. This will comprise the Depot where all recruits will go for their first training, an Officers Cadet Cadre, where likely lads from the Regiment or other units of the Force will be trained as officers, and the Specialist Cadre, consisting of interpreters and such like. The great advantage of having one combined Force is that it will be economical both in money and in man-power. It will only be necessary to have one Headquarters and one Headquarters staff for all the volunteer Force organisations, which will thus be freed from the heavy incubus of administrative duties, and leave them free for their operational roles.
The Force is so organized that there is a place in it for every citizen who wishes to offer his services in peace or in time of emergency. It is open to persons of all nationalities, and the Oath is so worded
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that non-British citizens may join without endangering their own national status. Because of its clear advantages, racial grouping will be retained within the Force, but promotions to commissioned rank will be a Force function and not a racial sub-unit function. To give an example of what I mean—a platoon, or even a company, if recruiting is successful enough to allow it, will consist of Non Commissioned Officers and men of one race, but the officers may not necessarily be of that same race; thus a company composed mainly of English other ranks may well have some Chinese officers or a predominantly Chinese company may have Portuguese officers. The Pay Code will be based on the Pay Code of the Services, plus a local high cost of living allowance. Service outside the limits of the Colony will be optional, and on joining the Force, the recruit will be asked to state whether or not, on an emergency being declared by the Governor-in Council, he is willing so to serve. It will be possible for him to change his mind one way or the other at a later date. It will be appreciated that, in the ease of the Naval and Air Forces, it will not be possible to take on any men who are not willing to serve outside the limits of the Colony, because for their training alone, they will have to go outside. The command of the over-all Force, and of its component branches, will be volunteers, that is civilians. They will be assisted by regular staff officers, just as in pre-war days the Commandant of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps was assisted by a regular adjutant. That is the organization of the proposed Hong Kong Defence Force. To recapitulate, there will be one Force made up of six components, the Naval, the Regiment, the Air Force, the Auxiliary Force, which will be divided into a Home Guard wing and an Essential Services wing, the Women's Volunteer Force, which will comprise essential workers and women members of the three Services, and the Headquarters Force, consisting of the Depot, an Officers Cadet Cadre and a Specialists Cadre. It will, of course, not be possible to complete the Force and bring it up to its full strength all at once. That will have to be done progressively in phases. The first phase, which we may take as the ensuing six to twelve months, will be a Force Headquarters with a strength of about 50, the Depot (part of the Force Headquarters) with a strength of about 500: these will be mostly recruits, and the number will fluctuate as they are either taken in or passed out to whatever unit they go to, an Infantry Battalion of the Hong Kong Regiment 1,000, Specialists Cadre 200, Home Guard wing of the Auxiliary Force 500, and the Essential Services wing 2,250, making a total of 4,500. That is the figure we aim at within the next six to twelve months. Phase II, which will overlap Phase I, will mean the addition of the following: —
Auxiliary Units, that is Engineers, Signals, Medical, etc. ... ... ... ... 270 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...260 Officers Cadet Cadre ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 Women's Volunteer Force—Military Wing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..300 Essential Services Wing ... ... ... ... ... ...350
That gives a further 1,230, or a total for Phases I and II of 5,730. In addition, there will be about 350 for the Naval Force and 100 for the Air Force, but plans are not yet sufficiently advanced to state
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when or how they can be organized. It will be appreciated that the figures are approximate, and that it is not possible at this juncture to say that on such or such a date the numbers will be so and so, or that each of the units will be of such and such a size. It may later be desired, in the light of further experience or the circumstances and conditions then prevailing, to develop the Force somewhat differently from what I have here outlined. The organization is flexible and can be adapted to suit the requirements of the moment. What I can state is that before the end of the financial year 1949/50, it is anticipated that the Force will have been built up to a figure of around 6,000 and that it will be necessary to make financial provision accordingly.
I have already mentioned that a Pay Code, which it is considered will be fair and satisfactory to the volunteers, has been drawn up, but it is the earnest opinion of Government that the responsibility of the Colony cannot stop there. These men and these women who join the Force are going to give up much of their time, and maybe even their lives in the defence of Hong Kong. We know the quotation from Kipling: —
"It's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Chuck him out, the brute!' But it's Saviour of 'is country' when the guns begin to shoot''.
We must do something more for them than merely ensuring that their pay and allowances are adequate. It is intended to meet this obligation by the establishment of proper recreational and welfare facilities, and it is our aim and hope that this should become the centre of the social and cultural life of all the members of the Force, most of whom will be of the younger generation. The facilities will include a gymnasium, a theatre or concert hall, reading and writing rooms, a restaurant, messes and canteens, and will be such as to enable present welfare organizations, for example the various Churches of the Colony, to extend their valuable activities to the volunteers. It is essential that this recreational and welfare unit should be centrally located, and that there should be some facilities for outdoor sports. The numbers to be catered for are large, which makes the problem a difficult one with our congested central district. It will, however, be solved, I believe, by the following arrangements. Negotiations are taking place with the trustees of the Cheero or Harcourt Club, with the idea that The Club should early next year be handed over to the Force. It will be used for messes and a canteen. Then, as soon as it can be done, and this will take some time as no plans have yet been drawn, a large new building will be erected adjacent to the Harcourt Club on the old Beaconsfield Arcade site. This will comprise a gymnasium, lecture and concert hall, library and so on. A portion of the outdoor recreational facilities will be found on the ground at present held by the Hong Kong Cricket Club. This was not an easy decision to take, for this Club has occupied this site for just under a hundred years. It is one of the pioneer
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sporting institutions of the Colony and has always been one of the focal points from which our volunteer system has sprung each time re-organization or re vitalisation has been necessary. Whilst paying tribute to the valuable service which the leaders of each generation of the Club has rendered to the Colony, I believe that the civic centre of Hong Kong's youth should now be the Defence Force headquarters. It will not, however, be necessary to disturb the Club until 1950, or possibly even later. This will enable them to move to a new ground which will be offered to them at Happy Valley. It would also seem only right and fair that the Club should be compensated for their pavilion, which will be required by the Force. It is possible that the pavilion may be added on to, for a headquarters has to be provided either at the new building to be erected on the Beaconsfield Arcade site, or on the Cricket Club site. Plans are not yet sufficiently advanced to say which it will be, but in any case, whatever building is done on the cricket ground will be on a small scale, for, as I have stated, the ground is required for the playing of games by members of the Force. It will not be used for parades except on ceremonial occasions. The Cricket Club ground alone obviously won't be able to cater for an organisation of the size of the Defence Force, and it is hoped to allot them a sports area in an easily reached part of the New Territories.
Now as to the cost. Here I can only give you round figures. The capital cost of Phase I is roughly $3 millions, and the annual recurrent cost between $1¼ and $1½ millions. The capital cost of Phase II, and here the biggest item is the guns for the battery, is $4 millions, and the annual recurrent cost an additional 2 lakhs, giving a total capital cost for both phases of $7 millions, and a total annual recurrent cost, when both phases are in full operation, of between 14 and 17 lakhs. This is exclusive of anything for the Naval and Air Forces for which no figures are yet available. The cost of the new recreational centre-cum headquarters may be taken very roughly, and I underline the words "very roughly'', at $6 millions. These may seem large amounts for this Colony to pay, but I have hopes that we shall not be asked to pay Military Contribution which, before the war, was assessed at 20% of our ordinary revenue, until 1939 when it was fixed at $6 millions per annum. Discussions on the matter are still taking place in London, as colonies other than Hong Kong are also concerned. Pending the outcome of those discussions, I am obviously not in a position to promise that Hong Kong would not be asked, at some future date, to make a Contribution, but I am authorised to say that it is quite certain that no such request would be made which did not take into account our general financial position at the time.
The plan I have laid before you is no panic scheme drawn up in a hurry. It has been developed over the past eighteen months or more and is the outcome of the joint deliberations of members of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, Naval Defence Force, the three Services, of this Government and of the Colonial Office both here and in London, but in particular of a committee under the chairmanship of the Commandant of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence
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Corps, Colonel Ride. As I stated earlier in my remarks, there is a place for everyone in it. There were certain weaknesses in the old organisation which was not the fault of the members. These have been rectified. The new Force will be far larger than the old Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and the Naval Defence Force. It will combine the military branches with the civil branch of essential services and civil defence. It will, I hope, bring about a spirit of esprit de corps amongst its members, whether serving in the Regiment, the Essential Services, the Naval unit or any other unit, whether man or woman, or whether British, Chinese, Portuguese or any other nationality. The bond should be love of, and service to, Hong Kong. The members of the Defence Force will work in close collaboration with their sister Force, the Police, and the three Services. I commend the proposals to this Honourable Council and trust that when the Defence Force Bill has been passed into law and recruiting commences, our young men and women will come forward to join. They will be the inheritors of the fine tradition built up by the former Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and the former Hong Kong Naval Volunteer Force. (Applause).
MOTIONS.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the following resolution: —
Resolved that under the power conferred by section 3 of the Pensions Ordinance, 1932, as amended by the Pensions Amendment Ordinance, 1947, the retrospective effect as expressed therein of the proposed regulation in the Schedule hereto be approved.
SCHEDULE.
PENSIONS ORDINANCE, 1932.
Regulations by the Governor in Council
(under section 3 of the Ordinance).
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Pensions Ordinance, 1932, as amended by the Pensions Amendment Ordinance, 1947, and with the prior approval of the Legislative Council signified by resolution, the Governor in Council hereby makes the following amendments of Pension Regulations C as published in the Gazette of the 12th October, 1934: —
AMENDMENT.
1. The Proviso to sub-regulation 3 of regulation 2 of Pension Regulations C is hereby amended with effect from the 1st day of January, 1947, by the deletion of the following words in the first and second lines thereof: “whose salary scale has a minimum of less than $420 per annum.”
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2. Pension Regulations C are hereby amended with effect from the 26th day of December, 1941, by the insertion of an additional regulation after regulation 5 as follows:
"Continuity of service.
(6) For the purpose of calculating an allowance or gratuity under these regulations an officer's service may with the approval of the Governor be deemed to be unbroken notwithstanding that he ceased to be employed in the service of this Colony after the 25th day of December, 1941, if such officer resumed such service not later than the 31st day of March, 1947, and in such case such period of cessation of service which occurred before the 15th day of March, 1946, or any part thereof may, with the approval of the Governor, be deemed to be service which may be counted for the purpose of calculating an allowance or gratuity grantable under these regulations: Provided that an officer who did not resume duty and who died not later than the 31st day of March, 1947, shall nevertheless be deemed to have resumed duty, for the purpose of this regulation, on the date of his death."
He said: Sir, Section 3 of the Pensions Ordinance, 1932, was amended by the Pensions (Amendment) Ordinance, 1947, to empower the Governor in Council to make regulations under the Ordinance having retrospective effect to confer a benefit upon or remove a disability upon any person. That power, however, was made contingent upon this Council signifying its approval by resolution. The resolution before Council is therefore to obtain approval of Council to retrospective operation being given to the amending Pensions Regulations which are specified in the Schedule to the resolution on the Order of Business.
I would explain, Sir, that paragraphs 1 and 2 of the amending regulations deal with entirely separate matters. As regards paragraph 1 of the amendment non-pensionable officers are permitted by Pension Regulations C.2(3) to elect to take a reduced annual allowance on retirement of three-quarters of the full allowance together with a gratuity which is equal to 10 times the reduction of the annual allowance, but this permission is restricted to cases where the officer has a minimum salary of less than $420 a year. With the increase in salaries on the recent revision this limitation excluded many people who previously were entitled to exercise this right and thus an upward revision became necessary. There is, however, no reason why there should be any salary scale restriction on this right. There is no such restriction in similar commutation of pension applicable to pensionable officers. The Secretary of State has agreed to the deletion of the restriction on the right to elect to take a reduced pension and gratuity.
In regard, Sir, to paragraph 1 of the amendment the resolution is necessitated by the fact that as the recent salary revision is effective as from 1st January, 1947, removal of the limitation to exercise the right should be applicable retrospectively from that date. As regards paragraph 2, this paragraph is necessary for
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the purposes of permitting periods of services pre-war, during the occupation and post-war to be added together for the purpose of computing awards under the Pensions Ordinance to non-pensionable officers, subject to certain requirements which are set out in the new regulations. It also permits a grant of death gratuity to the dependants of an officer in the service of the Colony up to the commencement of occupation of the Colony where death occurred during the occupation or before the resumption of duty after the termination of the occupation. It will be observed, Sir, that the new regulation is enabling only in so far as there is discretion to apply it in any particular case and it is intended to apply on the basis of loyal and proper behaviour of the officer and, so far as the aggregation of service, is concerned upon residence during the occupation period in unstable areas. The same principle has been applied to pensionable officers, but no amendment to the Pensions Ordinance, 1932, or the regulations thereunder was necessary to give effect in that case.
I would add, Sir, that the Secretary of State has agreed to this amendment and the resolution, as I have said is necessary, because the amendment requires to be applied retrospectively from 26th December, 1941.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Motion was carried. HONG KONG DEFENCE FORCE BILL, 1948.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the First reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to provide for the establishment of the Hong Kong Defence Force". He said: Your Excellency in your speech, to-day, has very fully informed Council not only of the intention of establishing a Hong Kong Defence Force in revival and in extension of the pre-war Volunteer Force, but has also dealt very fully with the decisions which have been reached as to the form and organisation of the New Force. It is therefore I think, Sir, very probably unnecessary that I should detain Council over long in any very lengthy description of the content of this Bill which is a relatively short Bill of 37 clauses.
Honourable Members will have read the Bill and will have observed that in clause 2 of the Bill there are set out very comprehensive definitions of terms which are employed freely and frequently throughout the rest of the Bill. The Bill is divided into parts; the first part deals with organisation. Clause 3 of the Bill in that part empowers the Governor to raise and maintain a Force of Volunteers for the defence of the Colony. Clause 4 provides that the Force so raised should be raised and maintained at the expense of the Colony out of monies provided by this Council. Clause 5 describes the units into which the Force shall be divided, the units being those which Your Excellency has described in your speech to-day. An important provision in this part is that contained in clause 7 which provides that the liability for service outside the limits of the Colony can be applied to members of the Force, provided, however, that the volunteer on enlistment shall have declared his consent in writing to service outside the Colony.
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Part 2 deals with the important matter of the calling out of the Force. Clause 14 states that in an emergency the Force or any part of it may be called out by proclamation of the Governor. Clauses 15 and 16 are important provisions for pay and for disability pensions for volunteers who may be disabled or their dependants where the death of a volunteer has occurred.
Part 3 establishes a Welfare Fund for the Force and Part 4 deals with matters of discipline of the Force. It may broadly be stated that discipline will be controlled in relation to the Service Discipline Acts of the respective components. Thus, the Naval Unit will be effected by application of the Naval Discipline Act; the Military Unit, the Army Act; and the Air Force Unit, the Air Force Act. Part 5 deals with property of the Force and Part 6, which is described as Miscellaneous, contains in clause 4 the nature of the Oaths to be administered upon enlistment of an officer or volunteer. Clause 36 provides for the repeal of the existing Ordinances dealing with volunteers, namely, the Volunteer Ordinance, 1933, and the Naval Volunteer and Defence Ordinances 1933 and 1939.
Finally, clause 37 declares that the Ordinance shall come into force upon a date to be notified by proclamation of Your Excellency. As Your Excellency has said, the Bill is the result of very considerable thought and consultation with all authorities concerned. In point of fact, these consultations have persisted up to the moment of the introduction of this Bill. Thus I must, I fear, forecast that at the appropriate stage it will be necessary for me to move certain amendments to the Bill as now presented to Council.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a First time.
Objects and Reasons.
The "Objects and Reasons" for the Bill were stated as follows: —
1. From experience gained in the past it has long been considered that the Volunteer Ordinance, 1933, and the Naval Volunteer Ordinance, 1933, should be repealed and replaced by a new Ordinance establishing, maintaining and controlling the defence forces of the Colony. Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of the Bill have been designed to achieve this result.
2. Clause 6 introduces an innovation, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, as it permits an alien as well as a British subject to hold a commission in the Hong Kong Defence Force.
3. The occasion may arise when it may become necessary to employ units of the Force outside the territorial limits of the Colony. In the case of the naval unit and the air force unit it would not even be possible to train officers and volunteers efficiently solely within the Colony and in practice it is not proposed to accept volunteers for these units or for the Specialist Cadre unless the officer or volunteer
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undertakes to serve outside the limits of the Colony if so ordered. For the sake of conformity however and in order to preserve the principle of voluntary service the Bill provides that in the case of officers and volunteers belonging to units which may be called upon to serve beyond the boundaries of the Colony, no order for such service shall be made unless such officer or volunteer shall have declared in writing that he is willing so to serve if ordered. See clause 7.
4. Clause 8 places an officer of the Force when called out or under training with His Majesty's regular forces who may be senior to an officer of His Majesty's regular forces, in command of His Majesty's regular forces as well as of officers and volunteers of the Hong Kong Defence Force. This departs from the procedure hitherto existing in the Colony.
5. Clause 9 affords the same immunity from any Ordinance dealing with dangerous goods as is afforded to the regular forces.
6. Clause 10 deals in detail with the right of a volunteer to quit the Force. No express provision is made in the case of an officer who will accordingly have to obtain the approval of the Governor before relinquishing his commission.
7. Clause 11 empowers the Governor to dispense with the services of an officer or volunteer and to disband or discontinue the services of the Force or any part thereof.
8. Clauses 12 and 13 give a Service Commander the power to convene courts of enquiry and with the approval of the Governor to make regulations.
9. Clause 14 deals with the calling out of the Force or any part thereof in any emergency.
10. Much dissatisfaction was caused in the past with regard to pay and emoluments and pensions. It is considered that Clauses 15 and 16 will remove any such dissatisfaction in the future.
11. Clause 17 makes it clear that an officer or volunteer may receive free medical and hospital treatment tinder certain circumstances.
12. Clause 18 introduces a welfare fund and its provisions are modelled on section 37 of the Police Force Ordinance, 1948.
13. Clauses 19 to 23 inclusive deal with discipline.
14. Clause 25 makes it an offence for any person to obstruct an officer or volunteer in the performance of his duty.
15. Clause 26 provides for a penalty where no special penalty is provided under the Ordinance.
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16. Clauses 27 to 30 inclusive deal with the vesting and disposal of property, and the recovery of subscriptions and fines.
17. Clause 31 provides for the summary recovery before a Magistrate of moneys, pecuniary penalties and fines.
18. Clause 32 empowers the Commandant to authorise in writing any member of the Hong Kong Defence Force to appear before a Magistrate on his behalf.
19. Clause 33 makes it lawful for the Accountant-General to pay to the Commandant for the purpose, of the Hong Kong Defence Force such annual sums as may be authorised by the Governor and voted for by the Legislative Council.
20. Clause 34 has been designed to provide the necessary oath and declaration for British subjects as well as aliens.
21. Officers and non-commissioned officers of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and commissioned and warrant officers of the Hong Kong Naval Volunteer Force are at present exempted from jury service by virtue of section 4 of the Jury Ordinance, 1887. Clause 35 of the Bill will afford similar immunity to the members of the Force holding equivalent ranks.
MAGISTRATES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1948.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: —Sir, the third item on the Order of Business provides for my moving of the First reading of "An Ordinance to amend the Magistrates Ordinance, 1932". Sir, in this case, further consultation is shown to be necessary, and I therefore ask permission to defer the First reading of this Bill.
This was agreed to.
NEW TERRITORIES (ADMINISTRATION) BILL, 1948.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Second reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to amend the New Territories Regulation Ordinance, 1910, to make better provision for the administration of the New Territories and for the style and functions of the officers charged with the administration thereof or with the administration therein of other provisions of law."
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a Second time.
Council then went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by clause. Council then resumed.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL reported that the New Territories (Administration) Bill, 1948, had passed through Committee without amendment and moved the Third reading.
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THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a Third time and passed into law.
VICAR APOSTOLIC INCORPORATION (CHANGE OF NAME) AMENDMENT BILL, 1948.
HON. LEO D’ALMADA moved the First reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to amend the Vicar Apostolic Incorporation Ordinance, 1885". He said: Sir, the Objects and Reasons of the Bill are sufficiently set out in the print accompanying the draft Bill and I do not need to add anything to that. I would like to give Council notice of the fact that in the appropriate stage of the Bill I shall move two amendments: —
1. That for the words "Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong", at the end of Section 2, be substituted the words "Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong". This amendment is necessary in order to avoid any possible misunderstanding or confusion.
2. With regard to the new Section 4, there being a printers' error in the second word of the first line.
HON. P. S. CASSIDY seconded, and the Bill was read a First time. Objects and Reasons.
The "Objects and Reasons" for the Bill were stated as follows: —
1. The office of Vicar Apostolic of the Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong has been raised to a bishopric. In view of this, it has become necessary to give to the Roman Catholic dignitary having the supreme, ecclesiastical jurisdiction in this Colony in the Roman Catholic Church his appropriate title.
2. Clause 2 of the Bill has therefore been designed to give effect to this change of status.
3. Opportunity has also been taken to repeal and replace section 4 of the Vicar Apostolic Incorporation Ordinance, 1885, in order that the section may conform accurately with the requirements, regarding private Bills, of Article XXVII of the Royal Instructions.
ADJOURNMENT.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR: —That concludes the Agenda, Gentlemen. When is it your pleasure that we should meet again? A week from to-day?
This was agreed to.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR: —Council will adjourn until this day week.