10
CONCLUSION.
8. The Oversea Defence Committee are therefore strongly of opinion that in the interests of security the Aberdeen scheme, and the construction of the cross harbour pipes, should be proceeded with at once, work on the second section of the Shing Mun scheme being postponed until these are completed. By this means everything possible will have been done to reduce the risks of a shortage of water in time of war, and it will be possible to make good any shortage of water that may occur on the Island in peace time, as well as to assure an adequate supply for the west end of the city.
While appreciating the purely economic arguments which have led the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council to oppose the early adoption of the Aberdeen scheme, the Committee venture to hope that further consideration of the problem in the light of defence requirements will persuade them that persistence in their present policy might, in the unfortunate event of war, prove calamitous both to the Colony and to the Empire,
(Signed)
G. N. MACREADY, Secretary.
Oversea Defence Committee.
2, Whitehall Gardens, S.W.1,
December 6, 1928.
O