2
Hong Kong then lived. In 1883 Sir George Bowen, on becoming Governor,
found it necessary to inform the Secretary of State that parts of Hong
Kong were overcrowded, filthy and deficient in all the primary elements
of health and decency. When I assumed the Governorship some 99 years
later I found no necessity to report to the Secretary of State in a
similar vein. That the need has gone owes much of the determination of
this Council over the years to make Hong Kong a cleaner and pleasanter
place to live in to the benefit both of the people who live here and
our intemational reputation.
The Council's area of concern has long gone beyond cleansing
and hygiene. With your interest in markets, street traders, libraries
and museums, and recreational facilities, as well as culture, you are
now responsible for activities and facilities which closely affect the
everyday life of our citizens. Their efficient management can contribute
greatly to the well-being of our society by making this city a pleasanter,
easier and less stressful place to live in, and in so doing create an
environment in which the social evils of the modem world find it more
difficult to grow.
The population in the area for which this Council is responsible
has also grown enormously in the post war years. It is therefore fitting
that arrangements have been made for the Council to reinforce its contacts
with those whom it represents not only through elections on a wider
franchise but through the provision of seats for elected councillors on
the District Boards in their constituencies.
access of the Council to the views of those on whose behalf you act and
enable you to reflect the needs of the districts in the decisions which
you take.
It will in turn provide a means by which the policies adopted
by the Council can be explained and gain acceptance at District level.
This will improve the
Before concluding,