Extract from the Hong kong Daily Fress
of 25th January, 1929.
A Serious Position. The following resolution was then moved by Sir Henry Pollock :-
That in view of the precarious condition of the water supply, which threatens to become even more serious in the year 1930, it is the unanimous opinion of this Council that it is imperative the following works be constructed and completed at the earliest pos- sible date apart from any other schemes in contemplation :- (1) The joining up of the Shing Mun Water System with the Water System of the Island of Hong Kong by means of a pipe line laid on the surface of the bed of the Harbour cap- able of being completed in the course of this year.
(2) The construction of the bye- wash reservoir below the pre- sent Kowloon Reservoir.
Sir Henry said it was quite un- necessary for him to lay emphasis upon the serious and great incon- venience which was being occasion- ed to the community, and, in parti- cular to the poorer section of the Chinese community in the rider- main districts, by the present short- age of water, for the position was sufficiently well-known to all mem- bers of the Council.
It was also patent that, apart from extraordinary good luck in the matter of rainfall during the summer of this year, the position as regard water shortage would be far worse this time next year than at present.
In The Public Interests.
cus-
In these circumstances, the Official Members of the Council, no less than the Unofficial Members, were virtually concerned, as todians of the public interests, in respectfully urging upon the Home Authorities the imperative necessity for measures being taken forthwith for the purpose of remedying the water shortage as soon as possible. Hence the words in the motion constructed and completed at the earliest possible date."
The first part of the motion dealt with the imperative necessity for the Shing Mun Water Scheme being joined up with the water system of the Island of Hong Kong by means of a pipe laid across the bed of the Harbour, he went on.
This was obviously a desirable measure, seeing that the Kowloon side had water to spare over and above its present requirements, and, as the matter of water relief was so urgent, this motion emphasized specially that such pipe-line must be of such a character and construction as to be "
capable of being complet- ed in the course of this year.'
""
The Bye-Wash Reservoir. This, naturally, ruled out an alternative scheme which had been suggested for embedding a pipe-line in concrete and carrying it under the surface of the bed of the Har- bour, because such alternative scheme, apart from its being many times more expensive than the scheme mentioned in the Motion, would take so long a time to com- plete as to render relief in the near future impossible, he continued.
The second part of this Motion related to the construction of the bye-wash reservoir below the pre- sent Kowloon Reservoir, which, it was understood, would have storage capacity of some 200 million gallons and could in all probability be completed by the end of next
year.
a
The carrying out of the above two measures at the earliest possible date would, it was hoped, meet with the unanimous support of His Excellency and the Members of this Council, and the speaker begged leave to move accordingly.
The resolution was seconded by Sir Shou-son Chow.
MR. J. P. BRAGA.
Mr. J. P. Braga: Like the poor the water question is always with us. About a year ago it figured prominently in a discussion before the Sanitary Board. Ever since considerable space has been devot-
|
ed to it in the columns of the public Press.
I am conscious of the fact that one of the first matters to engage Your Excellency's serious attention since you assumed the government of the Colony has been this one of the water supply, and it remains to this day one for anxious thought.
The Resolutions moved by the senior unofficial member and seconded by the Senior Chinese member bespeak the imperative necessity for an immediate pro- vision of an
adequate sup- ply to prevent a recurrence of a water famine next year. The precarious condition of the water supply in the Island, if al- lowed to continue, will inflict serious hardship on the people and, even in a more marked degree, on those least capable to bear it. Twenty or thirty cents a day, as the price of a single bucketful of the pre- cious fluid, means the deprivation of some necessary item of comfort in the homes of the labouring and working classes. Their hardship is great. And the duty is imposed on this Council to obtain relief for them. In our endeavour, I am happy in the assurance that the Government is entirely with the unofficial members. It is, there- fore, with great pleasure that I speak in support of the two Motions before the Council.
Residents of Kowloon have had the benefit of observing the com- mendable expedition and workman- like manner in which the large mains have been laid down in the trunk road on the mainland in an- ticipation of the commencement of the cross-harbour pipe-line to Hong Kong. The work is being carried on in a way to cause the least in- convenience to traffic and has elicit- ed favourable comments from Kow- loon residents. There is every reason, therefore, to expect that the hope of the trans-harbour line being completed and in operation by the end of the year, will not be falsified.
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