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points that makes it difficult is that all the gentlemen in the district are not quite in agreement with Mr. Lau's scheme and they do not like it. It is taking a little time to persuade thei which scheme to support. There is no question of enforcing the Building Ordi- nance all over the New Territory, but there are one or two places in which it would be better if it were enforced more than it is. Un Long, one of our biggest towns, is one of those places. A good deal of gambling and speculation goes on in the hope that Government will have to resume une land, and immediately it becomes known outside the office that a scheme of development is on hand, land seems suddenly to acquire more value. I understand that some of the poor villagers are buying land at $300
an acre.
As to the mortuary at Shektongtsui, this was, at first, more or less hidden away in the country. Then three or four houses were built near it.
It was not a case of a mortuary being set out down amongst houses; the houses came to the mortuary. The Government agreed to pay half the cost of removing it if the people interested would pay the remainder, and I note that one of the people concerned is now building close to the mortuary at Kowloon, and he told me last week that he is sending in a proposal asking the Government remove that mortuary. Park which has been referred to, is certainly narrow, and I think it is a pity that the site to which Mr. Lau referred was sold some years ago, but there are not many motor cars using the road.
to
Road,
As to land sales by private treaty, I am afraid the suggestion made by Mr. Bird would give an opening to a good deal of collusion. The suggestion as to Kowloon cemetery is receiving con- sideration and sketches for dealing with it are being prepared. With regard to the water supply a water pipe across the harbour is a thing that may possibly have to come in the future. The matter of scaffolding workers seems to be a real grievance at the present time. The prices being paid and the wages they are de manding certainly seem to me excessive.
As to dumping conveniences, provision is made in the Estimates, and it will mean practically doubling the Praya at certain points. The Government have given other facilities in the last or three years and we are getting a rather valu- able reclamation at West Point by reason of it.
With regard to the Hon. Mr. Stephen's remarks about town planning, I would like to point out that the Government have not gone on the hand-to-mouth way that the hon. member suggested. There has been very complete town planning for Kowloon for many years, and I my- self laid out a system of monuments in- dicating streets some of them at that time in the sea-on the lines of the work I did at Brooklyn in the United States on a town planning scheme there. When you build a town like Victoria on the sheer side of a precipice I do not think English town planners would do very much better than we have done. As to resumptions, the number that we deal with for streets widening is insignificant. The Kowloon Town Development Scheme is a case in which land is privately owned by small persons and has to be resumed in order to be parcelled out again under a town planning scheme. These are the resumptions which are bought up by speculators as soon as it is known the Government is coming in. As to water pressure as soon as the demolition work has been completed a big main will be brought down from the Reservoir into