86
of course, be impossible to discard the rider-main system until there is an assured supply of water available both on the island and on the mainland throughout the year; and the Government will certainly give this Council an opportunity to debate the matter before the rider- mains are abolished.
Naval Volunteers.
I now turn to the question of es- tablishing in this Colony a division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Re- serve, for which a sum of $25,433 is provided in next year's estimates. I note that the Unofficial Members consider that the formation of such
a division of the Royal Naval Volun- teer Reserve might detrimentally affect recruitment for the Hong- kong Volunteer Defence Corps; that naval work should be left to the Navy, and that the creation of! such a reserve would be alien to the spirit of international concord and fraternity, which is rapidly gathering weight and momentum throughout the world. I shall not fail to place the views expressed on this subject by Unofficial Members before the Secretary of State for the Colonies, as the matter is one, not merely of local, but of imperial concern. There are, however, cer- tain considerations which it is de- sirable to put before the Council
at once.
Reason for Reserves.
I
1
It is clearly impracticable to maintain the fighting services of the British Empire at full war strength in time of peace, and con-? sequently it is necessary to make provision for expansion in the un- fortunate event of an outbreak of war. This is the reason
for re-
The amount of training necessary to prepare for these local services is comparatively small; and in a war, where it is necessary to make the
{ most economical use of one's re-
it would be wasteful sources,
to
employ personnel trained for gen- eral services upon specialized local defence measures. Moreover, ow- ing to the distance of Hongkong from the United Kingdom, local re- in war be quirements here must met from local resources, and it is and to adapt our local resources personnel for use in war that the present proposal is put forward.
r
Sing," which will make a series! of weekend cruises within the waters of the Colony. Volunteers, will undertake to serve when call-' ed out in emergency in the colonial waters. They will not be required to serve away from Hongkong, unless they specially elect to do
So.
Volunteers not Affected.
It is obvious that the scheme which I have outlined is on so small a scale that it will not in- terfere with enlistment for the Volunteer Defence Hongkong Corps. Nor are the volunteers, who are likely to enlist in the of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, men who would be likely to join the Defence Corps. The Volunteer Government carefully considered whether the formation of this unit' would be likely in any way to pre- judice recruitment for the existing Volunteer Defence Corps and de- cided that there was no such risk. Nor is there any prospect of the scheme committing the Colony to increasing expenditure in future
The Council will remember that, in the budget for 1927, at the sug-Hongkong division gestion of His Majesty's Govern-, ment, a scheme was included for the creation of a Hongkong division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. That scheme involved the mainten- ance of two mine-sweeping sloops and considerable personnel. It re- quired a large initial outlay and, once decided upon, would necessitated heavy maintenance charges. The scheme was adopted by this Council and the sum of $40,-
have
000 was voted as the estimated ex-
penditure for half a year; but, in view of the financial situation then existing, the Secretary of State for the Colonies decided to postpone the matter.
Modest Proposals. The new proposals more modest. initial expenditure; and if, for any reason, it should hereafter be con- sidered inadvisable to continue the
are much There will be small
miralty is assisting these proposals by lending to the Colony, free of charge, the latest form of mine sweeping equipment and a gun, which will be mounted in the Colony's rescue tug "Kau Sing." The Admiralty has al- SO agreed that naval officers and instructors should for the present assist in the training of the volunteers.
scheme, there would be no com- mitments which would affect a de- The cision to disband the force. organization would, however, be serves. The functions of the Royal such that it could expand in keep- Navy in war are very varied. They ing with the requirements and re- can be classified broadly as "gener-sources of the Colony. The Ad- al service", which includes all the sea-going branches, and "local de- fence," which, as the name implies, is comparatively stationary and is centred round seaports of naval or commercial importance. The duties which fall to a local defence force are principally counter- measures against mine-laying and submarines. These are two forms of attack by stealth, which threat- en shipping in all navigable waters, especially off naval or commercial harbours, where traffic is neces- sarily dense and vulnerable. It will be remembered that in the Great War enemy submarines at- tacked shipping off the Azores and the coast of America, whilst ships were sunk off Australia and South Africa by enemy mines, and that in to
was necessary
this Colony it resort to mine-sweeping opera- tions.
Imperial Suggestion.
Experimental Period.
should be regarded as an experi- It is intended that the year 1930 mental period, during which en- listment will be for one year only and the main objects will be to try out the scheme and select in- dividuals from those volunteering for posts as instructors. In the first year we shall be prepared to enrol up to thirty volunteers. Training will include lectures, gun drill, instruction in signals and in the use of small Mine-sweeping and gun practice will be carried out from the "Kau
arms.
years.
As honourable members! will observe from the description: of the scheme which I have given, it is concerned simply and solely with the defence of the shipping of this Colony in time of emer- gency and at a time when the Royal Navy might not be able itself- to engage in mine-sweeping opera- tions round the waters of this Colony. The scheme is purely one of defence, and there need be no. fear that it will in any way militate against the growing spirit of international concord and fraternity.
ever
The Saikung Road.
The next matter upon which I wish to touch is the proposal for: a road through the Saikung dis- trict of the New Territories. The Unofficial Members, with the ex- ception of the honourable Mr. Braga, criticize this proposal as: premature. They must have over- looked the fact that the Saikung district has now formed part of the New Territories of this Colony for thirty years, and that during those thirty years nothing what-
has been done for the; development of the district beyond the construction of
a police
f station at Saikung
1900.: Honourable members, of course, represent in this Council the in terests of taxpayers in the Sai- kung district no less than in other districts of the Colony, and I doubt whether on this subject the numerous villages in that area and the prosperous market at Saikung would share the views of their re- presentatives in this Council. It may be that Unofficial Members have been alarmed by the magni- tude of this work, which is de- scribed in papers laid on the table as a circular eastern road, 25 feet.
in