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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MOTIONS
(1) THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, moved the following (in English):
"RESOLVED that the Urban Council Annual Report for the year 1974-75 be approved."
He said: This is the second time that an Annual Report of the Urban Council is submitted for your consideration and approval, Members will want me to thank the Secretary of the Urban Council, the Urban Services Department and the Public Relations Consultant for their work under the direction of the Administration Select Committee.
In the Foreword, there is a synthesis of the work of the Council and the Urban Services Department. I commend it to Members' attention.
This Report will be submitted to His Excellency the Governor as required by Section 48 of the Urban Council Ordinance.
I have pleasure in moving its adoption.
MR. HENRY H. L. Hu (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in seconding the motion.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I don't really wish to speak so much as to enquire. Can the Urban Council Report next year be brought out a little earlier. It is now in the middle of July and I would have thought that if next year's Annual Report could now be in preparation then directly the Council year has finished, it could be sent to the Printers.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—I will ask the Chairman of the Administration Select Committee to clarify the position for Mr. BERNACCHI.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I don't know that I subscribe entirely to Mr. BERNACCHI's view, that we write history before it is made. (Laughter). But I do accept his point and we have in fact been striving to bring this out much earlier. We had hoped to bring it out in May and I sincerely hope that next year we shall be earlier. Having said that, I would like to point out that we are by far ahead of any Government Department, probably by many months in this publication and, to that extent, we take a little joy.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG (in Cantonese):—The Chinese part of this Annual Report is for reading by Chinese. I think it is very poorly written. I hope that next year we can ask people to write a better report, otherwise it will not be good for the Urban Council.
MR. MACKENZIE (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a brief comment. I would like Dr. HUANG to perhaps spend a little time to be more specific on the points of issue so that this can be considered by the Select Committee. I cannot read the items myself, so I cannot comment intelligently.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
MRS. ELLIOTT (in English):—Without seeing it?
CHAIRMAN (in English):—Mrs. ELLIOTT's comment is out of order because this report was issued by the Secretary to the Standing Committee sometime ago. We will proceed with the next item of the Agenda.
(Note: The report was issued to Members on 20th June, 1975)
(2) MRS. E. ELLIOTT, CHAIRMAN OF THE LIBRARIES SELECT COMMITTEE, moved the following (in English):
"RESOLVED that the Library (Amendment) By-laws 1975 be made under section 105L of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance."
She said: Mr. Chairman, as Chairman of the Libraries Select Committee, I rise on the motion standing in my name.
Library By-law 21 as it stands at present does not allow days on which the Council's libraries are normally closed, or days on which they have to be closed because of a gale warning, to be discounted when calculating the charges for overdue books. In other words, library borrowers are being penalized for no fault of their own.
The purpose of these minor amendments are to remove this anomaly in the By-laws, and to exclude the payment of a charge for an overdue book in respect of a day on which a library is closed to the public, or is closed to the public for any period because a gale warning is in force.
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