513
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86
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
visits this port, taken as a whole, views this scheme with a good deal of satis faction. It is quite obvious, to quote the words of my despatch to the Secretary of State, that it is neccesary that he moorings should be distributed
"with due regard to the depth of water and to the requirements of trade, e.g., moorings for vessels engaged in the rice and coal trade will be placed in positions con- venient for such trades. The moorings will be assigned through the local pilote or by signal to incoming vessels by the Harbour Depertinent. It wil thus be possible to make full use of all the moorings and to avoid having many lying idle as at present during the absence of vessels of firms which own them. I anticipate nur difficulty whatever in berthing vessels to the satisfaction of all concerned and the new arrangement should prove of great advantage to the trade of the port."
We have already,
in pursuance of this policy, taken over ten moorings and we have already been able to provide moorings for vessels in a trade which is ill-provided with anchorage -I refer to vessels in the rice trade. There is a big demand for vessels in that trade, and we cannot possibly satisfy that demand until we have control of all the moorings in the Harbour and are able to distribute them in a reason- able and businesslike fashion. I hope we shall be able to complete the resumption of the remaining moorings in that class, which is C Class mentioned in my de- spatch. I think there are about 13 still to be resumed. When we have done that we hope next year to proceed with the resumption of the other heavier moor inge, and we are convinced that the fears of certain shipping interests that this scheme will prove a failure will not be justified, but, on the contrary, will prove a very great success. With regard to the charges that will be imposed, it is true that they will be heavier than the ridiculously small charges that the lessons of moorings now pay, but they will not be in excess of the rent which lessers of these moorings charge to those to whom they lend them, The hom member who represents the Chamber of Commerce referred next to the abolition of bonus in lieu of leave in the Police Force, rendering the taking of annual leave compulsory. While that opens a very large question, the idea has a good desl to recommend it, but there is no doubt that it would involve very considerable additional expenditure, and you can well understand that any proposition which
We du
involves additional and permanent ex- penditure cannot be entertained at the present time. Two hon. members referred to the reduction of nursing sisters at the Government Civil Hospital. Now I would like in the first place to point out that apparently there is a misapprehen Sion. The Estimates provide for eight such Sisters, two being at the Maternity Hospital and two being private nurses. Now these four nures outside the scheme of reduction.
are entirely not propose to interfere with them at all It is true that one nursing Sister, who was a private nursing Sister, has left the service during the last few months, but that has not deprived the public of the use of two private nurses, I have not got the figures here, but I am in a position to state that this year there has been less demand for private nurses than in any recent year, and I do not think that any application for a private nurse has been refused. If * private nurse had been applied for it would have been possible to supply one from the Government Civil Hospital-or, I might better say, it would have been possible, if a nurse had been applied for, to have supplied one. As a matter of fact, I do not think two private nurses have been applied for at one and the same time, at any rate not for several months. We expect a candidate from New Zealand it is impossible to obtain a candidate from the Home Country at the present and when she arrives she will be added to the private nursing staff. With regard to the supervision of vernacular schools, it is possible that additional supervision might be welcome. It is a sort of sub- ject on which one might indefinitely multiply the amount of supervision and still not make it sufficient, but at any rate we are in a far better position tham We were before the new Ordinance came into force, when there was practically hardly any supervision at all. However, I will speak to the Director of Education on the subject and see whether there is any real cause for complaint. The hon. member who represents the Chamber of Commerce then went on to
arge the linking up of the Kowloon-Canton Rail- way. Well, that is a subject which we have ourselves very much at heart. It is in the interests as the hon. member pointed out-of both railways, and we hone to
the sele
junction lished in a reasonable space of time. cur Chinese friends, as you know, move very slowly, and the two lines being under different Administrations, an agreement
accom-