·
October 25, 1902.]
Hon.. C. 8. SHARF. Hon. C. W. DICKSON.
Hon. G. W. F. PLAYFAIR.
Hon R. SHEWAN.
Mr. C. CLEMENTI (Acting Clerk of Councils).
MEMBER RE-SWORN.
The Hon. Wei A Yuk took the oath, having entered upon a new term of membership of the Council.
FINANCIAL.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY laid on the table Financial Minutes Nos. 60 and 61, and moved that they be referred to the Finance Committee. The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
THE ESTIMATES-BLAKE PIEB, ETC. The COLONIAL SECRETARY laid on the table Report of the Finance Committee (No. 14) and moved its adoption. He said-In bringing up this report, sir, I beg to take the opportunity. as Chairman of the Finance Committee, of thanking the hon. members for the expeditious manner in which, at considerable tron le to themselves and loss of time, they disposed of a great deal of important business at last meeting. At that meeting, sir, some questions were raised by hon. unofficial members. The member for the Chamber of Commerce questioned the pro- priety of one of the members of the Medical Department devoting part of his time to, and receiving remuneration for so doing from, the Chinese College of Medicine; and it was moved by Mr. Sharp and seconded by the member for the Justices that the fees of the Government Civil Hospital for first and second class patients both inside and outsille the Government service, should be raised to $10 and $5 for outside patients and $7.50 and $1 for Government servants respectively.
Hon. C. 8. SHARP-Might I point out, sir, that the recommendation as regards Govern- ment servants was for those drawing over $200 a month ?
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-Yes, that is noted. The erection of a temporary shelter at Blake Pier was also suggested, and the member for the Justices..suggested that the supplies of subsidiary coins should be largely increased. The Treasurer promised to investi- gate this matter. Finally, a desire was expressed by the member for the Chamber of Commerce and the member for the Justices to have the correspondence that has passed between the Secretary of State and the Officer Administering the Government regarding the recommendations of the Public Works Commission communicated to the members of this honourable Council. I promised, sir, to look into the matters I have mentioned, and I have already taken ste, s, with your Excellency's permission, to make arrangements for hon, members to see the correspondence referred to. The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded the motion.
&m
28
l
|
His EXCELLENCY-With reference to this matter of a shelter for Blake Pier, I may tell hon. members of this Council that anxious as any man in the Council to see this shelter put up at Blake Pier, and I fully recognise the importance of it; but unfor- tunately, without increasing taxation further than we have suggested, I do not see my way to leaving that on the estimates for this year At the same time, if we found that the result of the year's proceedings later on and that our next year's revenue appeared to justify it, I have it in my mind that in those circumstances I should ask the permission of the Secretary of State to put a vote for that amount at the first possible moment before the Council with a view to carrying out that work. I fully recognise its importance, but I think members of Council will ages with me that there is nothing in the public works extraordinary that is not more important than that.
The motion was adopted..
PUBLIC SERVICE OF 1903. The first item on the orders of the day was the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordin- ance to apply a sum not exceeding four million seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and forty-two dollars and twenty-three cents to the public service of the year 1903.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-This Bill was already before the Finance Committee, and I had intended, in Fiew of that fact, to ask that it might be read a third time and not re-committed. I find, however, sir, that under
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
the standing orders the presence of all the members is necessary, and the Attorney-General was not present at the last meeting of the committee. I beg therefore to more that the Council resolve itself into committee to coD- sider the Bill clause by cluse.
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The Council thereupon went into Committee, and on resuming the Bill was read a third time and passed, on the motion of the COLONIAL SECRETARY, seconded by the COLONIAL
TREASURER.
CHINESE EMIGRATION CONSOLIDATION
ORDINANCE.
to
The COLONIAL SECRETARY moved that the Council resolve itself into committee consider the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the Chinese Emigration Consolidation Ordinance, 1889.
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The Council then went into committee and considered the fill clause by clause, when a few amendments of minor importance were made, on the proposal of the HARBOUR Master.
The Bill was afterwards read a third time and passed.
THE DOOS ORDINANCE.
The Bill entitled an Ordinancs to amend the Dogs Ordinance. 1893, was also considered in Committee, on the motion of the COL NIAL SECRETARY, seconded by the COLONIAL TREASURER,
There were no amendments in committee, and on the motion of the COLONIAL SECRETARY, seconded by the COLONIAL TREASURER, the Bill was read a third time and passed,
PROPERTY IN HONGKONG.
In committee on the Bill entitled an Ordin. ance to repeal The Land Registry Office (Fees) Amendment Ordinance, 1902, and to amend Ordinance No. 3 of 1844 entitled "An Ordin- ance to provide for the Registration of Deeds, Wills, Judgments and Conveyances affecting real or immovable property in Hongkong, several amendments were made, and these having been accepted by the Council the Bill was read a third time and passed, on the motion of the COLONIAL SECRETARY, seconded by the COLONIAL TREASURER.
LIQUOR LICENCES.
an
In committee on the Bill entitled Ordinance to amend the Liquor Licences Amendment Ordinance, 1900, Hon. C. S. SHARP
propo ed an amendment that the Bill do not come into operation until 1st January, 1903, instead of 30th November, 1902. e said- My reasons are, sir, that some cases have been brought to my notice of people having wholesale licences for liquor who do a very small business, and who will be stamped out of existence by the $1,000 fes. In the meantime they have certain stocks-these may be little or they may be large-which they will have to get rid of somehow, and therefore they should be given time to arrange their affairs before they retire from business. It certainly seems to bear rather hardly on them if, in addi- tion to being stamped out of existence, they have also to pay a large fee in order to be able to dispose of the balance of their stocks.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-I think that what the hon. member says is the case, sir. I see no serious objection to making it the lat of January.
The amendment was agreed to, and the Bill was read a third time and passed, on the motion of the COLONIAL SECRETARY, seconded by the COLONIAL TREASURER.
THE STAMP ORDINANCE.
The Council next went into committee on the Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend The Stamp Ordinance, 1901.
Several amendments were proposed, amongst them one by the Hon. G. W. F. PLAYFAIR that the limit of exemption be fixed at $25 instead of $20.
A division was taken, when six voted for the amendment and five against it.
HIS EXCELLENCY, who refrained from voting because all the unofficial members were unanimous in their desire to increase the figure for exemption, declared the amendment carried. The Bill was afterwards read a third time and passed.
321
was desirable that some of them should be sent home at once to the Secretary of State. Care would have to be taken, however, that the ame.dments accepted by the Council were reproduced in the Bills as finally drawn up,
The Conucil adjourned sine die.
FINANCE COMMITTEE.
A meeting of the Finance Committee was held immediately after the Council, the Colonial Secretary (Hon. F'. H. May, C.M.G.) prosiding.
DAMAGE BY STORMS,
The Governor recommended the Council to vote a sum of $18,610 to cover part of the cost of repairing the damages to roads, retaining walls and buildings by recent typhoons and s vere rainstorms.
The CHAIRMAN read a list of the necessary repairs, after which the vote was agreed to,
MAGISTRACY EXPENSES. The Governor recommended the Conncil to vote a sum of $500 in aid of the following votes of the Magistracy:
-
Office furniture, repairs, and incidental
expenses... Costs of witnesses for giving evidence in criminal cases, and for inter- preting dialects with which the Court interpreters are unac- quainted...
$250,00
$250 00
Total $500.0 |
The CHAIRMAN-The cxcess has been caused by the larger number of cases beard and wit- nesses examined, involving the copying of Voluminous depositions.
The vote was passed.
T. is was all the business.
THE LAST OF THE HONG- KONG REGIMENT,
DEPARTURE FOR INDIA.
Cn Thursday afternoon the Hongkong Re- giment bade farewell to the Colony and sailed for India to be disbanded at Jbelum, in the Punjab. It is just a little over ten years ago since the Regiment was formed. During its short career it has won golden opinions from those best qualified to judge, and there is nothing but regret expressed on all hands that Hongkong should lose the one unit of the British army which was regarded as the Colony's very own. The Regiment's formation was a result of the decision of the Colonial Defence Committee in 1888 that the garrison of Hongkong should have a permanent strength of two full battalions of infantry, and it was recommended that, if the Indian Government were unable to supply a battalion, a special battalion should be recruited from the Punjab. This latter suggestion ulti- mately got the approval of the War Office, and in 1891 a special committee of six was appointed, with Lieut.-General Gordon, Assistant Military Secretary for Indian Affairs, as chairman, to carry out the work necessary for the raising of the corps. That committee in due course gave in their report, and it was at length decided that the Regiment should be recruited at Jhelum, two companies to be Pathan, four Punjabi, two Hindustani, and one from the 7th B.I.-all Mussulmans The Government permitted recruiting from other regiments to the extent of 30 from each, and to the number of 562 over and above the draft from the 7th B.L. Major E. G. Barrows of the Judian Staff Corps was appointed to the com- mand and in January, 1892, the enrolment of recruits was begun. So well did the natives respond to the call that in two or three months the Regiment was in a position to be embodied. When the time for its departure from Jhelum arrived, the corps was almost at its falls rength, and, when inspected by Lord Roberts before departure, it wanted only 58 of its authorised establishment of 1,013 officers, non-commissioned officers, and men. The officers of the new Regi- ment were Captain H. F. Faithfull (second in command), Captain J. M. A. Retallick, and Lients R. H. Dawson, W. H. M. Woodcock, M. R. E. Ray, E. L. C. Berger, and E. C. Rowcroft,
The Regiment sailed from Bombay for Hong- kong on 19th April, 1892, arriving here on the 7th of the following month. On 13th May an HIS EXCELLENCY explained that the various inspection was made by Colonel Macdonnell, Bills had been hurried through with because it ❘ R.A., Commanding the Garrison, and on the