(
November 21, 1903,]
The effect of that interpretation may be to verride section 14 of the Land Court Ordinance and to poufer "title" in 盘 manner never intended and impossible to permit. It was never intended and cannot be permitted that title to land in the New Territories should be acquired otherwise than by grant from the Crown as in the case of land in the other parts of the Colony, but it is open to question whethes the effect of the interpretation clause of the New Territories Titles Ordinance is not to vest in the Land Court the power to confer title independently of grant from the Crown. It was never intended that the Land Court should have power to do more than investigate claims to land and report thereon to the Governor. It was always intended and that intention still prevails that the ultimate right to grant or to refuse a title should rest with the Governor an intention which clearly appears in section 14 of the Land Court Ordinance, 1900. No inconvenience will thereby be cansed to anyone, because no land has yet been brought under the operation of the Ordinance.
NEW TERRITORIES LAND COULT
ORDINANCE,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill entitled an Ordinance to further amend the New Territories Land Court Ordinance, No. 18 of 1900.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The objects and reasons of the Bill are to empower the Governor to facilitate and arcele. rate the work of the New Territories Land Court by adding members thereto «hen necessary.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND BUILDINGS ORDINANCE. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill entitled an Ordinance to amend the Public Health and Buildings Ordin- ance, No. 1 of 1903.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The objects and reasons attached to the Bill are as follows:-The object of this amending Ordinance is to effect certain amendments in
the Principal Ordinance principally on the recommendation of the Sanitary Board. The practical working of the Ordinance has shown these amendments to be necessary. An amend. ment is also made in the arbitration clauses, by which power is conferred upon the arbitrators, provided for in the Ordinance, to take into their consideration, in determining the amount of compensation which may be payable in any given case, the fact that the rental of the premises is enhanced by reasou of its being overcrowded; and by direction of the Secretary of State amendments are made to various sections of the Principal Ordinance, by which a Sanitary Department is created, Principal Civil Medical Officer is constituted its administrative head. In order to give effect to the Board's recommen- dation, a new definition of the expression "exter- nal air is submitted to Council. The Board
and the
A
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
becomes a "room.
The amendments therefore do not prevent cubicles" in future houses, but only prevent the existence of windowless cubicles except where such cubicles exist in rooms which are themselves sufficiently light.
MAGISTRATES ORDINANCE.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved that the Council resolve itself into committee on the Bill entitled an Ordinance to further amend the Magistrates Ordinance, 1890.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The Bill having been considered in committee,
The Council resumed.
seconded by the COLONIAL SECRETARY, the On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL,
Bill was read a third time and pissed.
UNDESIRABLE PERSONS,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL. moved that the Council resolve itself into committee on the Bill entitled an Ordinance to provide for the recovery of charges incurred by the Colony on account of certaiu undesirable persons introduced into the Colony. He said-Since the Bill was last be- fore the Council it has been before the the Standing Law Committee and by a majority
Committee mend the Bill to the Council in the shape in have agreed to recom- which it is now in the hands of hon. members. The hon. member for the Chamber of Commerce (Mr. Pollock) was not present at the last meet- ing of the Law Committee, but it may be as- would have opposed the principle. The amendments, which have been he is opposed to the Bill On
effected, or rather that are suggested and recommended by the Standing Law Committee, go almost the whole way in meeting the objection raised by the hou, member?
having reported that section 48 of the Principal Ordinance, as it stands, is unworkable, that section is repealed by the Amending Ordinance and has been recast to accord with the Board's recommendation. The object is to expedite and facilitate legal action in case of overcrowding The present procedure is too cumbrous. similar course is taken with respect to sections 153 and 145 of the Principal Ordinance; and on the recommendation of the Board sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 175 are transposed in the Amending Ordinance. The Amending Or dinance also deletes the last clause (the proviso) of section 46 of the Principal Ordinance. This has been done on the recommendation of the Sanitary Board because as the section stands it is found to prevent an finality in determining the number of persons who may inhabit a floor, as by altering the size of a cubicle a man mayat present increase or decrease the number of persons allowed. The proviso was a concession made at the time when it was believed that every third house would be taken down and lateral windows in cubicles thereby provided. The words " room and "cubicle" heretofore having in many instances the same meaning will for the future have a distinct meaning, and be dealt with under separate sections of the Ordinance, and by the amendments made at the Board's suggestion, a “oubicle" (i e., a subdivision of a room) as soon as it has a window one-tenth of the floor area
sumed that he Bill, as
HIS EXCELLENCY-What was it?
limited to any per on who is either lunatic, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL -The Bill is now
and it is made legs wide in its scope than idiot c, or imbecile, or suffering from leprosy,
Also the Bill makes it originally intended. undesirable persons shall have power to detain quite clear that masters of ships bringing board unless the Principal Civil Medical Officer or the Medical Officer of Health gives permission to land them, and in case any passenger is so detained no action sball lie against any person whatsoever. I do into it, but I move that the house not know whether the house is prepared to go go into
them on
committee.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded. Hon. GERSHON STEWART-Your Excelleney, in the absence of the member for the Chamber
369
the Government is called upon to take some measures to prevent the dumping of lunatics who have no connection with the Colony at all into our asylum, the effect of which is that our own people in this Colony are excluded from the lunatic asylum. The matter has Principal Civil Medical Officer made an applics-
become tion the other day that we should build a new so urgent that the
lunatic asylum at a cost of some $55,000, and the usual increase, I suppose, of doctors, nurses, wardmasters, etc. To a certain extent I think those undesirable people from being dumped we ought to try and see whether we cannot keep among us. There is no objection to a reasonable postponement of the thing.
His EXCELLENCY-I will not have the opportunity later on of dealing with this Bill. but still I think it may be well that I should give you my views as far as this question about the six months is concerned. We ought to go upen a principle that is fair to the shippers as well as to the owners; that is, there ought to be some reasonable probability that there will be some. thing to show the owners and the captain of a ship that the person was not all right when he was on board, and therefore my own opinion is that when the Bill is gone on with no doubt is that six months is too long. The probability the Government will be prepared to meet the views of the shippers in shortening that period. If I were dealing with this Bill myself I should be prepared to meet any objection on this six months' score in that way, so that there would be have shown symptoms on board ship. a reasonable probability that the person would
'The Bill was postponed till next meeting of Council.
BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill entitled an Ordinance to de- fine the Boundaries of the City of Victoria.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
THE GOVERnor's farewell addrE88. H.E. tho GOVERNOR said.-Honourable
48
Members of the Legislative Council. this is the last occasion on which I shall have the honour of presiding over your delibera. tio s, I propose with your permission to review as shortly as I cau the condition of the Colony during the five years of my administration of this Government, I arrived at a time when a most important and far-reaching change was about to be made in the condition of the Colony. Hongkong, which was ceded to Great Britain in 1841, had developed into a great port, with ing a population of 248,000. Its area, includ. the point of Kowloon Peninsula,
shores was 32 square miles. The northern of the harbour were Chinese territory; at Sam-shui-po, Cap-sui-moon, and Fu-ti-moon Chinese Custom-houses were established, and Chinese Customs cruisers operated within the ill-defined harbour limits to the great irritation of the community. The Kowloon extension agreement, signed on the 8th June, 1898, remedied this anomalous state of affairs in a harbour that, under the fostering care of Great Britain, had grown into the posi- tion of the third port in the world, the tonnage of whose shipping had in twenty years increased much.
from 5,000,000 to 17,000,000. Under its provi- The ATTORNEY-GENERAL-We do not wantsions it became my duty as the representative of to press it.
of Commerce, might I ask your Excellency to postpone consideration of this Bill? It arrived in its present form only last night, and is practically to all intents and purposes a new Bill. It is a matter which the committee of the Chamber of Commerce would like to talk over. It contains a clause that bears hardly upon the shipper. It makes him liable for an undesirable person who becomes within six months from the date of landing a charge upon the public or upon any public institution. It does not seem a question of urgency, and if your Excellency would grant Chamber of Commerce would appreciate it very that indulgence the unofficial members and the
Her late Majesty the Queen to assume the desire on the part of the Government to
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-There is no government of over 400 additional square miles of territory, with a population of over unduly press this Bill, but at the same time I 100,000, and also over the waters of Mirs Bay It is only recently that the military authorities first time complete control over the waters of would like to point out that the Bill is urgent. and Deep Bay. This agreement gave for the asked for the reception in the lunatic asylum of the harbour and its approaches, and removed two European members of the garrison. That the causes of the long-felt irritation. It will because the lunatic asylum is already fall. taking over of the New Territory was not request had very reluctantly to be refus d be in your recollection, gentlemen, that the
Amongst the number of the occupants are to be accomplished without some trouble. The found several foreigners who have no connection | delimitation, of the northern boundary had to whatever with this Colɔny, and have no claim be arranged, and when it had been finally whatever upon the ratepayers of this Colony settled, on the 18th March, I, at the request of for their maintenance. There is a difficulty in getting rid of a foreigner who British Minister at Peking, deferred the great the Chinese Government, made through the
is brought here and is cast upon the Colony hoisting of our flag to the 17th April. and is a lunatio. Ships are very unwilling In the meantime certain agitators inflamed of such lunatios into their own countries as to take away a lunatic, and the negotiations the minds of the people by false statements
to the result of with a foreign government for the reception such an extent that armed resistanos
our occupation to
are very difficult and protracted. Therefore, the transfer of the New Territory WHO BELONG Sir, I think, in the interests of the Colčny and | upon. On the 14th April the matskõla
in justios to the ratepayers of the Colony, erected at Tai-pó Hu were destroyed, and the
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