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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
PRESENT:-
30TH APRIL, 1991.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE OFFICER ADMINIS- TERING THE GOVERNMENT (Hos. MR. CLAUD SEVERN, Q.M.G.),
H.E. MAJOR-GENERAL, SIR GEORGE MACAULAY KIRKPATRICK. K.O,B,K.C.S.I. (General Officer Commanding the Troops in China).
HON. MR. E. D. . WOLFE (Colonial Secretary).
Hos. MR. J. H. KEMP, K.C., C.B.E. (Attorney-General).
Hox. MR. C. McI. MESSER, (Colonial Treasurer).
0.B.E.
full of details about the Stamp Bill would be rather a waste of time to re them.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY SERVE
HIS EXCELLENCY-Members will an opportunity of cheeking then and will be more satisfactory than havi them read.
The motion to suspend the Stand Orders was carried.
Finance
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by en HON. MR E. 4. IRVING (Director of mand of H.E. the Officer Administering ↑ Education).
Government, laid on the table Financ HON. MR, S. B. CROSS (Secretary for referred to the Finance Committee.
Minute, No. 97, and moved that it Chinese Affairs).
HON. MR. T. L. PERKINS (Director of Public Works).
HON. MR. H. E. POLLOCK, K.C.
HON. MR. LAU CHU PAK.
HON. MR. A. O. LANG.
HON. MR. CHAU SIU-KI
MR. S. B. B. MELDERRY (Clerk of Councils).
ABSENT:--
HON. ME. H. W. BIRD. HON. Ma. A. G. STEPHEN,
Minutes
HIS EXCELLENCY-The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday have not been circulated to hon. members and I think that the best course will be for the Hon. Attorney-General to move the suspension of the Standing Orders.
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL—I move the suspension of Standing Orders to enable the minutes of the last meeting to be con- firmed at the next meeting of the Council. The Standing Orders require that the minutes shall either be read or circulated. There has not been time to print them for circulation; they are rather long and
THE COLONIAL TREASURER- second that.
The motion was carried.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by c mand of H.E. the Officer Adminishing & Government, laid on the table Fina Reports for 1920.
The Stamp Ordinance THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved t third reading of the Bill intituled, An Ori ance to amend the law relating to Start Duties.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seco
POLLOCK-WE
HON. MR. H. E reference to the practical working of t Bill I have a suggestion to make whi I trust will receive the favourable co sideration of the Government. The gestion which I have to make, sir, is with all these various headings in there be kept a ledger in the Stamp Offer schedule of the Stamp Bill, and that the ledger be entered up under the prop headings daily. aware, sir, in the past that has not be As you are no dou done, with the result that when Government wanted, Ordinance, to obtain particulars unde
under the
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
different beadings for the years 1918 1919, the procedure which had to be pted was a very cumbrous one, all daily requisitions for stamps having be gone through in order that the wament should know how the duty each particular bead worked out. It seems to me to be a great waste of be and labour. If a journal or ledger has I suggest were kept in the Stamp with these headings, and the re- itions were entered up daily, then the vernment would have a record de die Bien without the labour having to be through as was recently done. With ha ledger the Government could ascer- in the state of any particular heading any particular time. I trust the Ferment will take this into confidera-
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keeping a ledger, certain things, no doubt, could be done, but it would mean an increase of staff and of accommoda. tion. With regard to the sale of stamps, we really do not know what they are going to be used for and so we could never get a proper return under each heading. We can always tell the total stamps sold.
H EXCELLENCY-I understand that in the cases of super-embossed stamps, where there has been a regular routipe decision to the proper stamp required, with some increase of staff you could have them entered up?
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY-Not all sir. Sometimes a blank piece of paper is sent in with a request for stamp.
How. Mr. POLLOCK-I take it, t all events, that to a considerable extent a record could be kept. We should at least be further forward than we have been with the practice obtaining in the past.
lox. MR. LAU CHIL-PAK-I beg to port the remarks of the senior un- Cial member. I think what he bas gested in more businesslike and should adopted by the Government. At the e time, sir, if I am in order I should with your permission, to represent the views of the Chinese merchante a matter connected with the Bill. y feel, sir, that the Government has Flocked the interests of the Chinese
thants in not having appointed gle Chinese on the committee to con- der the Bill before its introduction into ie honourable Council. Seeing that
are the largest taxpayers in
the Mony and that the Bill would affect more than any other section of the eral community I, and my Chinese league, subinit, sir, that they have just und for complaint. They hope that, future, on any contemplated measures cting their interests, they will be given opportunity to express their views ough their accredited representatives. are is another point, sir, that they have ed us to urge upon the attention of the serpment, and that is the necessity of
ing the Bill translated into Chinese Treasury. requirements are so many, and not owing much English, they cannot be pected to understand them thoroughly. fter conferring with the Officer ministering the Government,
Treasurer,
Orial
and
the the
retary for Chinese Affairs both made
ment in reply.
COLONIAL TREASURER said reference to the remarks of the hon. mber on my left (Hon. Mr. POLLOCK) as to
H EXCELLENCY-I have wondered, myself, to what extent the Treasury knew of the various transactions of any parti- cular day, and how the figures that have been got out for the guidance of the Com- mittee of the yield of various stamp duties had been arrived at, and I cer- tainly think, if it can be done, it would be a business-like thing, as the hon. mem- ber says, to have some record. I should think a series of small separate ledgers would be required for each heading in the schedule, otherwise you might not allow enough room. Something perhaps might be done, but I quite see that the clerical labour involved may necessitate not only an increase of staff but also an increase of the accommodation available in the However, the matter is one
that will be considered. I agree that it would be very satisfactory if such a re- cord could be kept.
HON. MR. POLLOCK-With all defer- ence, sir. I don't think it will be necessary clerk for part of his time, and I cannot to employ the services of more than one
see that it would require a very serious increase of accommodation in the Stamp Office to provide room for a ledger being put in a corner.
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