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The unofficial members of Legislative Council at the same time
expressed a wish to cohsider the bill among themselves, and it
was arranged that the counsel retained by the watchmen should
have an interview with the unofficial members in order to put
before them the views of the watchmen whom he represented.
The unofficial members also granted an interview to the
Captain Superintendent of Folice and he placed his views before
them. As a result of this consideration of the bill by the
unofficial members it was decided to make the two following
changes in the proposed legislation :-
(a)
(b)
It was decided that two classes of
registered watchmen should be recognised,
i.e, (1) police watchmen, who would be
subject toolice training and discipline,
who would be paid through the police,
and who would have certain minimum rates
of pay, and (2) private watchmen who
would not be subject to police training
or discipline, who would be paid direct
by their employers, and whose pay would
not be regulated by statute.
It was decided that the prohibition
against money-lending should not apply
to existing private watchmen.
These two decisions have been embodied in the Ordinance and in
the regulations made under it. Every watchman to whom the
Ordinance applies has to register, but each individual can
choose for himself whether to register as a police watchman or
as a private watchman, and each employer can choose for himself
whether to employ a police watchman or a private watchman,
The unofficial members were satisfied with the result of the
above discussions.