412
24
Personal Emoluments.
The Prisons Department is taking over the Remand Home from the Police Department and at the same time the name will be changed to "The Causeway Bay Reformatory". The officer-in-charge of the Reformatory will be a Principal Officer and this involves the creation of one new post of Principal Officer. In addition the following new appointments will necessary:-1 School Master (who will also be the deputy officer-in-charge) and 6 Disciplinary Officers; whilst 3 Probation Officers, 1 Trade Instructor, 2 Station Coolies and 1 Cook will be transferred from the Police Department (Head 19) to the Prisons Department.
The Printing Staff of the Prison has been disposed of as a consequence of the agreement between the Government and Noronha and Co., Ltd.
Among the Indian Staff, it is proposed to improve the salary scale of the Chief Warder from $1,400 to $1,800 by $100 annually to $1,400 to $2,400 by $100 annually. In the opinion of the Commissioner of Prisons this officer is at present inadequately paid the welfare, discipline and distribution of duties of the Indian Staff depend very largely upon him and in consequence he is burdened with a large amount of clerical work. It is also proposed to abolish one post of Principal Warder and to create in its place one post of Assistant Chief Warder on a salary scale $1,200 to $1,400 by $100 annually. The object is to give a some- what better standing in the Department to the senior officer of the Sikh contingent in view of the fact that the Chief Warder is a Mohammedan.
HEAD 28A. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
SUB-HEAD 20.—Motors for Quarries, $55,000. Sixteen electric motors hired from the Hong Kong Electric Company are at present in use at the Tsat Tze Mui Quarry but the Company has signified that it does not propose to replace these motors when they become worn out. It will therefore be necessary for Government to provide its own motors in the near future since the hired ones are all of advanced age and liable to break down. The Finance Committee has already agreed in- formally to the purchase of sixteen motors if and when necessary and the sum provided is estimated to be sufficient to cover the cost of them all.
Personal Emoluments,
Provision is made for 1 Temporary Architect at $15,000, 1 Temporary Assistant Architect at $4,000 and 4 Temporary Assistant Engineers at $4,000. The salaries of the officers holding these temporary appointments, which are neces- sary on account of the pressure of work, have previously been paid from savings under Sub-head 1, Personal Emoluments; as it appears, however, that the employ- ment of these officers is not likely to be terminated in the near future it is con- sidered that definite provision should be made in the Estimates for 1941-42.
Under Port Works an anomaly in the salaries of the crews of the two Govern- ment dredgers has been removed. One dredger had a "Dredger Master and Engineer in command assisted by a "Class III Coxswain", while the other dredger had a "Dredger Engineer" in command assisted by a "Coxswain-Fireman"-all four officers being on different salary scales. As the duties of the first and second in command are exactly the same in each dredger the position has been regularized by abolishing the posts of "Dredger Engineer" and "Class III Coxswain"
and adjusting the salary scales so that in each dredger there is to be one "Dredger Master and Engineer" on the scale $450 to $1,050 by $75 annually and one "Coxswain-Fireman on the scale $300 to $420 by $12 annually.
HEAD 23B. WATER WORKS.
SUB-HEAD 10.—In 1940-41 provision was made for two Motor Vans and pro- vision is made for two more in 1941-42. The use of large lorries for attendance to small water service repairs is uneconomical and the acquisition of suitable small vans will reduce transport expenses and make it possible to perform many repairs to meters, etc., on the site.
25
Personal Emoluments.
Two new posts of Junior Meter Readers are required to cover the increased meter-reading and house service inspections caused by the increase in metered ser-
vices.
HEAD 24. PUBLIC WORKS RECURRENT AND WATER WORKS.
The increases shown are mainly due to the increased cost of materials and to the pressing need for more repairs and improvements to roads and bridges (Sub- head 2, Item 1).
HEAD 26.
SANITARY DEPARTMENT.
Other Charges.
Although some sub-heads show a decrease as compared with 1940-41 on account of the transfer of the Health Inspectorate to the Medical Department (Head 16), others show an increase owing to the higher cost of materials and expanding ser vices.
SUB-HEADS 39 and 40.-The area at Kennedy Town on which stand the Dog Kennels, Incinerator and a Bungalow (occupied by one of the Inspectors attached to the slaughterhouse) has been sold by Government to the Hong Kong and China Gas Company, Ltd., but for the present the Company is allowing Government to continue occupation on payment of rent.
Special Expenditure.
SUB-HEADS 41 and 42.-It is proposed to add six Refuse Lorries and one Motor Meat Van to the existing fleet so that the vehicles can be overhauled more frequently and their life consequently lengthened and so that spare vehicles will be available in case of breakdowns.
SUB-HEAD 43.
3.-One General Service Van is required for the transport of in- fected clothing, the removal of the gear of obstructing hawkers, and other general departmental work.
SUB-HEAD 44.-A serious objection from a health point of view to the present system of collection of street sweepings is the piling together of heaps of refuse on the streets to await the arrival of the refuse lorries. It is proposed to over- come this by the use of small locally-constructed hand-pulled trucks with detachable bins.
SUB-HEAD 45.-The increase in the amount of refuse shipped from Mataukok, Kowloon, to the dump at Kun Tong necessitates an additional refuse barge.
SUB-HEAD 46. At present the transfer of nightsoil at Kwai Chung Bay from the departmental nightsoil junks to the larger junks in which it is removed from the Colony is effected by coolies who have to stand in the nightsoil in order to scoop it out of the hold. The provision of suitable pumps will avoid this unpleasant procedure and also expedite the transfer.
SUB-HEAD 47. A modern Mechanical Gully Emptyer manned by one driver and two coolies could carry out in a more sanitary manner work now requiring twelve coolies.
SUB-HEAD 48.-It is proposed to purchase two Mechanical Street Cleansers, of a type adopted by the Corporation of Glasgow, for use in Hong Kong and Kowloon respectively. The cleansing of streets is done much more effectively by water under a pressure of thirty pounds per square inch than by a coolie's broom."
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