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82
weather.
It appears, however, that these powers apply only
when the merchant ship in question is in a port of the Colony,
so far as the port of Victoria is concerned,
and, therefore
they do not extend beyond the harbour limits. Table W in the
Schedule to the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1899, makes Victoria
Harbour a port of the Colony, and section 39 B (7) of the Inter-
pretation Ordinance, 1911, gives the boundaries of the Harbour
of Victoria.
Broadly speaking, those boundaries, as at present
laid down, exclude everything east of a straight line drawn from
North Point to Kowloon City, and they also exclude a large part
of the area between Stonecutters Island and the mainland. It
has been found in practice that ships anchoring to the eastward
of the eastern boundary of the harbour, being outside the harbour
limits and thus not being bound to obey orders issued by the
Harbour Master under section 22 (5) of the Merchant Shipping
sometimes fail in typhoon weather to raise steam or
Such ships sometimes drag
Ordinance,
take other necessary precautions.
on the
their anchors down to the westward into the harbour limits and
thus constitute a very grave danger to ships within the harbour
limits which have taken all precautions in accordance with the
orders of the Harbour Master. For this purpose, if forno other,
it is essential that the authority of the Harbour Master should
extend to the natural boundary of the harbour on the eastward,
i.e., to Lyemun Pass. The definition substituted by section
5 of this Ordinance extends the harbour to Lyemun Pass
eastward, and also includes the area north of Stonecutters
Island above referred to. This amendment is desirable also for
the purposes of section 39 (18) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance
which gives the Harbour Master certain powers over junks, lighters,
cargo boats and small craft. The words "unless any other
harbour is expressly indicated" were omitted in reliance on the
opening words of section 39 of the Interpretation Ordinance, 1911.