HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
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THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.—I may take it that the two machines are definitely approved.
HON. SIR HENRY POLLOCK.-Yes, definitely.
The unofficial members having conferred, His Excellency's sugges- tion was accepted.
In connexion with the item $3,840,750 for Public Works, Extra- ordinary,
HON SIR HENRY POLLOCK said. With regard to the question of making the road to Saikung, I think I may fairly claim to have even more knowledge than your Excellency of the country in question, because for 25 years I was cruising about in a cruising yacht in the waters of the New Territory and I quite admit that this road would open up a very beautiful district, but, Sir, I cannot agree that with so much expenditure held up on the Government Civil Hospital, the new prison, markets, improved system of broadcasting and even carry- ing on imperfectly and incompletely with the road between Causeway Bay and Shaukiwan, that we should be any the wiser in starting off on a new road for Saikung or any portion of it.
With reference to the Taipo Road, it is quite true that the near part of the road is no doubt within the waterworks reservation area, but there is a very large stretch of the road before you get to Taipo which is more or less high up, in a pleasant position and which has not been built upon. The same may be said with regard to the road between the gap above Sai Wan Bay and the gap leading down to Shek O. As to the gap above Sai Wan Bay and Shaukiwan, there is a great deal of hilly country with pleasant prospects upon which people could, if they were so disposed, have built, but they have not in fact done so. Having regard to the important public works held up, I certainly do not think this is a time when we can afford tol spend money on any portion of this Saikung Road. Therefore I beg to move
"That the item of $3,840,750 for Public Works Extraordinary be reduced to $3,640,750 by the omission from it of the sum of $200,000 for the proposed road to Saikung in the Estimates for 1930, being Item 110 on page 88 of those Estimates."
I may say again I have conferred with my unofficial colleagues on the question as to whether we should spend the money on this road or not, and they were, and are still, with the exception of, I think, Mr. Braga, of the opinion that this money should not be spent.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR.-I am afraid this is a matter on which I cannot accept the views expressed by the hon. unofficial member. In my opinion the time has now come when we must set to work and develop the hill districts above Kowloon. They will never be developed by tramway as the Peak district on the island was developed; they can
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