207
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
Road to Canton.
199
How many more years shall we be talking of the motor road to Canton? Rumour has it that the contract for the construction of the motor road in Chinese Territory to our boundary has already been given out and I have myself seen the pegging out, close to our own boundary. We are, however, almost entirely in the dark as to the position.
Home For The Infirm.
Hong Kong is a great international port and as such there is a constant stream of individuals looking for employment. Some are attracted by the prospects of possible work, some because they are unable to get work elsewhere. There is also another class, who cease to become employable. The able bodied are found employment by the General Charities Organisation, the Hong Kong Benevolent Associa- tion and other charities but it is of the last class I now speak. It is impossible to find work for them. They wander between the Sailors' Home and the Hong Kong Benevolent Association and often through no fault of their own become a charge on the Colony. They are of various nationalities and, as far as possible, they should be repatriated, but there is still a residue for whom a refuge should be provided. We have no old age pensions or insurance. They are nevertheless an obligation of the Colony.
Factory Legislation.
The Colony is slowly but surely becoming, for various reasons, a manufacturing centre. The probabilities are that it will sub- stantially increase in the not distant future. This carries with it in these days certain Government obligations to see that the factories are conducted according to modern hygienic methods and operated on proper lines.
The Report of the Inspector of Factories (Annex B) to the Report of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs for last year is illuminating and clearly indicates a case for further investigation. The time is not far off when more advanced factory legislation and largely increased factory inspection will have to be taken in hand, but this possibly has already received your Excellency's considera- tion.
Widows and Orphans Pensions.
I cannot help mentioning the financial position of the Widows and Orphans Pension Fund.
As far as I can find no fund has been set apart to meet these liabilities. We collect the subscriptions and pay them into our cur- rent account and use them as the revenue of the Colony.
I find on page 11 of the Estimates the sum of $190,000 is expected to be received next year.
A provident fund of this nature should, in my opinion, be absolutely secure and should be kept separate and apart as a Trust