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18
Thursday, November 2, 1972
Mr. Williams said that a large proportion of people in Hong Kong
considered the present situation "unreasonable and inequitable."
and
He who can afford the time and money to go to the races,
provided he can get in, is allowed to bet," he said. "Other less fortunate
are denied this privilege and at present, if they wish to bet, have no
alternative but to turn to illegal bookmakers."
Mr. Williams said that if legal off-course betting were permitted,
the machinery to effect this on a large scale would take some time to establish.
He suggested that as a first step, the Jockey Club be allowed soon
to accept off course certain approved multiple bets of the tierce and
jackpot type.
He was confident that this would result in an "immediate and
dramatic increase of monies available for the good of the community as a whole,"
Mr. Williams, who served in the Container Committee, spoke at
length on containerisation, describing it as "a monster which will not
easily adapt to Hong Kong."
"It is Hong Kong that must adapt to containerisation," he said.
He had a feeling that some government departments did not fully
understand the logie nor accept the inevitability of containerisation.
He made five recommendations:
Government should delay formal decisions relating to containers
until more experience is gained and more comprehensive data is obtained based on the vastly increased traffic which will develop in the coming year.
/Government