C. S. O. M. F. 237.
Government's apathy in failing to pro-, standing on what appeared at the vide a sanatorium for the treatment time as the inhospitable foreshore of of tuberculosis and, more recently, Yaumati, flanked by three leper settle- voiced the desirability of action being ments, with no roads, no lighting or taken for provision for the treatment water service, Kowloon's attainment of leprosy in the Colony. The re- to its present day populous and pros- than city, is nothing less establishment of a district dispensary perous at Tsimshatsui at small cost is not absolutely amazing! beyond the means of the Government to provide. These are subjects which might usefully engage the attention of the Director of Medical and Sani- tary Services.
vides
of In
It does not require the vision of an optimist to gain the conviction that a large administration building for Kowloon under whose roof all Govern- ment services could be co-ordinated is a necessity of the near future.
Word of Warning.
Tinkering With Problem. Under Sub-head 35 is a vote $60,000 for Anti-Malarial Works.
May I be permitted, Sir, to utter a his Memorandum the Treasurer ex- word of warning against the further plains that the vote is for anti-encroachment on King's Park by the malarial work in Hongkong. How construction of any more Government much of this $60,000 is for cost of buildings as it is proposed to erect resumption and how much of it pro- the Railway Manager's house within
for the
stream that area? King's Park has been re- training of courses and the draining of swamps served for recreation purposes and if to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, building after building is piled on the is a question I would like answered site the specific purpose for which by the Treasurer. And when the ex- this fine park has been laid out will planation has been forthcoming, rate- be defeated. There are other suitable payers will be interested to have the sites for officers' residences in Kow- expert opinion of the Director of loon. Medical and Sanitary Services whether the allocation for anti-malarial works
Kowloon City Fathers, I am told, are divided in their opinion as regards properly so-called is not an amount a proposal for reducing the number just sufficient to tinker with the of public rickshas plying for hire at malaria problem in the Colony. I Tsimshatsui. The support for the re- cannot discover any appropriation for duction of licences is based, I believe, this essential preventive service for on humanitarian grounds. This senti- Kowloon and the Mainland. Development of humanity is all very laudable; ment of the popular Castle Peak but when one considers that the earn- district for residential purposes, which has started in real earnest, is actually retarded through indifference in the adoption of measures for combatting the malaria scourge in this beautiful district of the New Territories. Taipo's reputation for the prevalence of malaria casts a reflection on the inertia permitting so unsatisfactory a condition of things to continue.
There is growing impatience at the delay in the presentation of the Malariologist's expert report and recommendations as a result of his investigations and research since his arrival in the Colony more than four
years ago.
the
factories provide a means of livelihood for many tens of thousands of our too much humble inhabitants. Far stress has been laid in the past on the predominant importance
of our entrepot trade and too little notice has been taken of our local manufactories. Hongkong Industries.
It will cause me no surprise if the Economic Commission Your Excellen- cy so timely appointed were to re- veal at the conclusion of their enquiry certain pleasing startling facts and figures that cannot fail to rivet at- tention to the economic value of the numerous factories scattered through- out Hongkong and at Kowloon and on the Mainland. It goes without say- ing that shipping and the entrepot trade have first claim on the Colony's support and protection.
For
this, Hongkong's in- Granting dustries are not so unimportant that one can afford to despise them. In recent months there is a growing con- sciousness that local industries have a forceful appeal on the Government no less than on our inhabitants. this reason, many there must be in the Colony who will share the gratifi- cation with which the newspaper re- port was received the other day that the Government has placed a substan- tial contract for materials for an essential public work with a firm that recently introduced an entirely new industry into the Colony.
Local Preference Plea.
a
ings of ricksha coolies within the flat
I plead for the realisation of the areas they are licensed to ply their fact that with every order placed by trade are fairly substantial in view the Government locally the Colony of the comparatively light work they
stands to benefit greatly, and if this have to do, there is no valid reason latest move can be regarded as an in- why ricksha licences should not be auguration of a new policy, hope is maintained at their present number. revived that better days are in store The withdrawal of licences from the for Hongkong. Private enterprise pullers will deprive them of a living has been responsible for the construc- and go to swell the ranks of the un-
tion of extensive ship-building and employed. This letter contingency is repairing yards, the erection of greatly to be deplored if it is allowed large cement factory, a well-appointed to happen. Rickshas are a very con-
and up-to-date brewery, an electrical- venient form of transport in streetsly-operated brick factory, a modern not served by the Bus Company, and pipe factory, and factories for the in wet weather residents are in a posi- manufacture of rope, rubber goods, tion to say that rickshas are a real
cork and felt hats, torchlights and blessing for short journeys.
clocks, enamelled ware, paints, cheap cotton knitted goods, toilet requisites like perfumery and cosmetics, silk- weaving and others too numerous to mention in detail.
the
better
for
no
Kowloon Protest.
of Representative residents
New Territory Produce. Kowloon community have approached Early this year the small Commit- me to register their disappointment tee appointed by Your Excellency to and protest at the perpetuation of the make recommendations for bottle-neck near the Star Ferry Pier facilities for marketing New Terri- at Kowloon Point. At no time did tories produce presented their report. they regard the erection of the garage The Estimates furnish no indication on the Railway ground with favour that efforts are being made for im- and their repeated protest against it plementing
suggestions has proved unavailing. With growing greater facilities for the disposal of bus and motor car traffic at this point, New Territories produce. If the need for relieving the bottle-neck facilities are contemplated for 1935, of increasingly dangerous congestion I trust that means will be found for is very real and the reconditioning of the provision of the small sum the garage to provide larger accom- quired in order to obtain larger ac- modation for postal facilities at Kow-commodation in the Colony's markets loon is a poor substitute for a new permanent Post Office in the construc- tion of which, it has been thought, a beginning might be made in 1935.
One has only to take a walk any evening, especially after the Chinese supper hour, through the districts of Tsimshatsui, Yaumati, Mongkok, Tai- koktsui and Shamshuipo to realise the pace at which Kowloon is growing. And for one like me whose vivid
re-
for vegetables and fruits grown in the New Territories. The necessity for stimulating the production of local products and for its more extensive marketing in the Colony is a measure the wisdom of which will be at once recognised.
The
economic depression has first time I brought forth, for the believe, an admission that local manu- factures, though comparatively small in volume, are of far greater import ance than most people realised were prepared to believe. Nor were concede that our
recollection of the Mainland as it was nearly sixty years ago is the exist- ence of a solitary brick and mortar building that served as a picnic house they willing to
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It behoves the Colonists to make every effort to support the enterpris- ing promoters who, in embarking upon their undertakings, have contributed millions of dollars to enrich
the
Colony and to provide the means of livelihood for the hundreds of thous- ands of people who flock from the neighbouring Provinces to enjoy the fruits of their labour in safety from molestation and tranquillity undis- turbed by extraneous influences.
Appreciative Conclusion. Sir, I started my speech in a tone somewhat critical; but I propose to conclude it in a different key. Business and more often pleasure have taken me on tours of Kowloon and the New Territories in my self-imposed task as the "man from Cook's" to friends and visitors to Hongkong from foreign places. It has invariably been a source of pleasure and delight to me to point out to our admiring friends not only the natural beauties which Kowloon and the New Terri-
96