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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 17th August, 1949, were confirmed.
PAPERS.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following papers:
Annual Report of the Commissioner, Rating & Valuation Depart-
ment, for the year 1948/49.
EXPULSION OF UNDESIRABLES BILL, 1949.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL noved the Second Reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to control the population of the Colony by providing for the expulsion of undesirables therefrom as occasion may require." He said, Sir: In so doing, I would like, with your permission, to attempt to anticipate or to deal with criticism of the Bill which may be in the minds of Honourable Members.
Sir, guided by what I have read or heard since the Bill was given a First reading a fortnight ago, criticism of this Bill appears to me to be, in the main, directed at the fact that the Bill provides for too arbitrary a procedure which is capable of being put in motion against a very wide range of persons. As to this, Sir, I would say that it is certainly the case that the Bill aims to provide legislation having such ingredients, although I would again refer to clause 5 of the Bill which sets out provision for careful investigation of cases. I revert, however, to the point which I tried to make and to emphasise in moving the First reading of the Bill. It is this: that the legislation contemplated by this Bill is intended to provide a reinforcement to legislation giving enabling powers to meet emergency as and when. it arises. Honourable Members do not need to be told by me that a common feature of all legislation in the nature of emergency legisla- tion is that it provides enabling powers of wide range and of arbitrary character. But, Sir, it equally must be the common experience of all who are aware of the operation and manner of operation of emergency powers whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere within the Empire that emergency powers are regarded as being there for use in circumstances of real need, and that there is always hesitation to employ such powers except to the extent which the interests of public safety, order and health require.
Sir, in the first paragraph of the Objects and Reasons which were published with the Bill, the point is made that Hong Kong has traditionally allowed free ingress to Chinese from China except in times of emergency. In fact, what has happened has been, over the years, that in respect of Chinese who come from China an exemption has been extended in practice, though not in fact in law, from the
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