HON. ME. S. H. DODWELL-I beg to second the resolution. I have nothing to add to the remarks Mr. Pollock has made on the subject.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR 1 have listened with pleasure to the remarks of the hon. member, and I fully agree with him in regard to the matter being of very con- siderable importance. I am not sure that I agree that the Committee he suggests would be the most satisfactory method of matting some action taken in the matter. I quite appreciate what he said about adrilateral correspondence, of which, Lon years past, I have had a con- There would be Fable experience.
ly five sides to the correspondence. But éis a fatal obstacle to the acceptance the hou. wenber's motion, because I nk it will be impossible for my honour- ble and gallant friend, the General Meer Commanding, to serve on such a Pammitted without first getting the ex- Bess permission of the War Office.
MAJOR-GENERAL VENTRIS-That is so.
H.E THE GOVERNOR—I think that the best thing to do is to get an agreement here, and then endeavour to induce the authorities at Home to fall in with the view. Whether it is well to proceed only with the question of the Queen's Road establishment, Murray Barracks, or also to include the
establish- Kowloon
ment -
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY- Whit fill Barracks.
Dove
on
H.E. THE GOVERNOR-I was not think-
Whitfield ing of
Barracks but the Juatsbeds
Road. Nathan
It is highly desirable that we should the military to * place equally suitable for military pur-i poses and less inconvenient to the civilian. It is well to remember that the matter is going to cost a considerable sum of money. We cannot expect the military authorities to remove without providing them with some place to move to. We must not only provide the site, but the buildings & well. So I think it is very clear that the matter is going to involve the Colony in a very large expenditure. I do not think we ran establish such a strong argument As he suggests on the military contri- bution and so forth. The answer to the statement that we are now paying the whole cost of the garrison, if correct, shows how small a proportion was paid in the past, and I shall be somewhat sur- prised if the cost of the garrison does not materially increase. The course I pro- pose to adopt is to transmit to the Secre tary of State the hon. member's motion with which, in principle. I am entirely in agreement. and ask him to induce the War Office to agree to a joint investi- gation in the matter between the War Unice and the Colonial Offer I think it will be most satisfactory if the under- taking is taken up by myself and my hon. and gallant friend and such other mem- ber as
are pleased to place their ser- vices at our disposal. I will do my best
to get the Secretary of State to consider the matter fully by placing the whole position before him, but I regret that, for technical ressons, I an unable to accept the resolution
Rule 26.
HON. MR. H. E POLLOCK - Sir, I have got the right to reply according to We should be glad if the mili- tary establishment were removed from Kowloon as well as on this side. My motion was confined to the military establishment in Queen's Road, and my experience tells me that if you deal with matters in detail you may get them carried through, but if you do not, you may not carry them through. I shall be glad if your Excellency will get the military to move further away from Kowloon as well as Hongkong. In regard to the military establishment in Queen's Road. I do not merely refer to the Murray Barracks, but to other military establishments along Queen's Road much further east than that. With regard to this motion I think, air, that, in order to show that the un- officials feel very strongly on this point, and that they do desire that the matter may be pressed, we ought to press this motion to a division in this Council. F think that this will impress the authori- tier at Home much more than if I said I did not press the motion. I think my motion ought to be pressed--I think all the unofficials press it and I do not think any rules of red tape should stand in the way of the General Officer Com- manding sitting on the Committee. I wil! further noint out that I gave notice of this motion as long ago as the 23rd of last month, and there was plenty of time in the interval to have communicated with the War Office by telegram and to have got the sanction for the General Officer Commanding to sit on the Com- mittee, which I think it would have been hard for the War Office to have re- fused having regard to the fact that the unofficials were supported by the Govern ment. Therefore, sir. I regret I must press the matter to a division.
H.E. Tas GOVERNOR-For the reasons which I have indicated I am afraid it will be useless for me to accept the motion for the reason that the General Officer Commanding will not be able to take part in it without the permission of the War Office.
The motion was then put and His Excellency declared the Noes have it." On the vote being taken there voted: Ayes:-The Hon. Mr. S. H. Dodwell. the Hon. Mr. E. V. D. Parr, the Hon. Mr. Ho Fook, the Hon. Mr. H. E. Pollock, the Hon. Mr. Lau Chu-pak.
Noes The Hon. Mr. John Johnstone and all the Official members.
•Military & Civil Authenties.
302