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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
For the rest it was felt after consideration that to include a general right of appeal from any activities of the Quartering Authority or any consequences flowing from giving effect to this enactment, would be merely to provide a slowing-up process which would make the whole legislation virtually unworkable. In this connection it has been borne in mind that the Colony already has tribunals under the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance which has had the greatest difficulty in discharging the work falling upon it. Not only has there been much work brought to them, but there has inevitably been the greatest difficulty in finding the personnel to man the tribunals or to serve them in the capacity of clerks or interpreters. A similar situation could be anticipated were a general tribunal to be established in connection with the legislation now before Council.
My Honourable Friend, Mr. T. N. Chau, has given a very full description of the motives and views which have guided the Committee in making the recommendations they did. If I had any criticism to offer on my Honourable Friend's speech it is this: that I think he has to-day, and perhaps the Committee also, in their consideration, made what I see to be a mistake and that is to stress too greatly the actual incursion of a mass of refugees into the Colony. Happily. such a situation has not, I think, arisen in any big way as yet, and in fact, at the moment, the tide of entry into the Colony is somewhat receding. But I think my Honourable Friend has really in mind the situation which has existed for some years since the liberation and that is that the Colony independently of any incursion of refugees has been greatly over-populated, with the consequence that the housing situation has been and remains acute even to-day. There is a further criticism which I venture to make on the Honourable Member's speech and that is I think he was a little unnecessarily apologetic about the recommendation which the Committee made that there should be a reservation for accommodation for the Hong Kong resident.
That brings me to the speech of my Honourable Friend, Sir Man-kam Lo. He concluded his speech, and I will deal with that part of his speech first, with the request that Government should give the assurance that this legislation, if it is passed by this Council and becomes law, shall be carefully watched and that representations made to Government about its operation coming from persons affected should be given every consideration. Sir, I am placed by Your Excellency in a position which enables me to give that assurance unreservedly. The very fact that this Bill by clause 11 is limited in duration is an indication that this Government regards the legisla- tion as temporary, but it does remain in force, according to clause 11. to the 31st December. 1950 and, as I have said before, the actual working of the Ordinance will be most carefully studied and con- sideration given to any representations made in the course of its operation.
Now, my Honourable Friend, Sir Man-kain Lo, has found it impossible to feel himself free to vote for the Second reading of this Bill for two main reasons, He has mentioned first of all that the
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