2
PART II
GENERAL REMARKS ON PORT ADMINISTRATION
WITH REFERENCES TO HONG KONG
1.
If the Reconstruction Programme is to provide for a new type of port government, then a few general remarks on Port Administration might be of interest and assist in the formulation of the type best suited for Hong Kong. It is not possible to define the ideal system which, embodying all that is good and discarding all that is defective in particular cases, may be advocated for general adoption when we remember that geography, politics, history, and climate, together with racial, social and business relations, are all interwoven into the problem.
All systems of port government are characterized by an attempt to meet local needs and requirements, and therefore embody certain features which are essentially good and beneficial while exhibiting obvious defects which are undoubtedly open to criticism, if not actual remudy.
2.
If we accept the view that each port has evolved its own system of government along lines which are most congenial to its nationality, its traditions and its bent, I would prefer to examine the "obvious defects" in the present system in Hong Kong rather than advocate the adoption of some more or less standard type of administra- tion which has been found suitable for some other port.
3.
Port Functions. A port may possess a harbour, but a harbour is not necessarily a port. As a harbour, Hong Kong has few rivals; but if we are to maintain and secure the future of the port it might be advisable to consider the extension of existing facilities and provide for progressive development to meet any reasonable estimate of the future expansion of its trade. Hong Kong is primarily a "Transhipment Port", but the industrial expansion of the hinterland, with the possibility of augmented and improved rail and road traffic, may well result in the additional classification of "Transit Port".
From
Classifications such as these demand a high standard in the function known as "exchange of vehicle", and unless arrangements are made to deal promptly and expeditiously with both incoming and outgoing consignments of goods, congestion is bound to ocour. The sure develop- ment of Hong Kong will best be attained by encouraging and fostering local industries, and the port may yet acquire a third classification as a "Port of Destination". This class of trade is most remunerative, for it would enable the Colony to benefit in a variety of ways: the increased amount of labour in handling and storing, warehousing and from processes of manipulation and all the attendant financial, insurance and other interests involved. I feel I must refer to my words "any reasonable estimate of the future expansion of its trade". The future development of a "Port of Canton" is in my opinion, not an impossibility if squarely tackled by a progressive Chinese Government prepared to face the capital outlay, engage a firm of first class port engineers and admit the necessity for maintenance dredging. For this reason I should prefer a broad policy directed towards the attainment of the third classification referred to above, which would at least have a tendency to stabilize our prosperity.