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for dealing with domestic refuse on private property if it is "in such a state as to be a nuisance or injurious or dangerous to health".
MR. FUNG: Mr. Chairman, would you kindly inform this Council how often the power as referred to in the last paragraph of your reply
has been exercised?
CHAIRMAN: I am afraid that I do not have the information now but I will let you know as soon as I have obtained it.
MR. FUNG: Thank you.
MOTIONS.
DR. R. H. S. LEE, Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, moved the following motion:-
THAT the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances (Amendment) (No. 2) By-laws, 1962, be made under section 15 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960.
He said:
Mr. Chairman, the object of this motion is to amend by-law 19 of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances By-laws, 1960, so that paper sacks can be used in premises where written approval for its use has been obtained from the Council. This type of receptacle is widely used in other countries, and there is no health objection to its use in Hong Kong provided that the user understands its limitations and the extra expense involved.
Sir, I beg to move.
MR. K. A. WATSON: Mr. Chairman, I think Dr. LEE has said everything that is required on this motion and I therefore beg to second.
The question was put.
The motion was carried.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI, Chairman of the Hawkers Select Committee, moved the following motion :-
THAT the Hawker (Amendment) By-laws, 1962, be made under section 83 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, 1960.
He said:
Mr. Chairman, I rise to move the motion standing in
my name on the Order Paper.
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The first change proposed is to amend the present annual fees for The licensing of wall stalls has had a very licensing wall stalls. chequered career. It was approved in the original Hawker Report some years ago. I must say, without meaning to criticise anybody, that if we had been able to license wall stalls immediately after the Report was approved we should have had a far easier task than that which faces us today because in my opinion the number of wall stalls of all shapes and sizes has more than doubled itself since that time. One of the reasons why we were not able to license wall stalls immediately the Hawker Report was approved was that we needed a great deal more information about them and that with our limited staff almost fully employed in other ways, it took a considerable amount of time to Nevertheless in passing, almost en bloc, various by-laws mainly drafted by the Law Revision Select Committee, there were drafted and passed by-laws for the licensing of wall stalls in a method that seemed to us at the time reasonable, namely, calculating the fees by area occupied by the wall stalls. Now that we have far more information on wall stalls generally it is clear that this method would be extremely complex and its application in some cases could result in exorbitant assessments. This was dealt with in the Supplementary Hawker Report and the proposed by-law will greatly simplify the method of assessing fees in accordance with that report.
discover.
The second amendment also follows a recommendation in the Supplementary Hawker Report that fixed pitch stall holders should be allowed to retain their goods at their stalls overnight. As it is dealt with in the Supplementary Hawker Report I have no need to enlarge on this proposal now except to say that general purpose and cooked food stall holders are already permitted to retain their goods at their stalls overnight and it is reasonable that fixed pitch stall holders should also be allowed this concession.
With these words I beg to move.
MR. J. L. MARDEN: Mr. Chairman, I beg to second the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried.
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS: Mr. Chairman, the next item on the Agenda is a motion which stands in my name, concerning an amendment to Standing Orders.
Unfortunately Mr. SALES was absent from Hong Kong when the committee paper on this subject was issued, otherwise, he has said, he would have asked for further consideration of part of this motion.
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