1921-07-19 — Page 9

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1921.

RENTS BILL.

GOVERNMENT MEASURE BECOMES LAW.

RIPLY TO CRITICS.

PETITIONS FROM LANDLORDS AND TENANTS.

The following is a complete report of the Legislative Council debate on the Rents B: briefly reported in yesterday's China Mail. Petitions were received from both landlords and tenants. Replying to criticism, H.E. the Governor cited other flagrant instances of unreasonable rentals: Passing all stages yesterday, the Government's amended measure has now become law. PASSED

THROUGH STAGES.

ALL ITS

The Cobes at SECRETARY Presbuted to the Council the following petitions:- From Mr. Mok Lai Chi representing Chine tenants of the Colony farther petition king that they might be represented by Counsel; from orriain proprietors of boarding houses: from the proprietors of domestic tenements pray- ing to be Beend represented by counsel on the and a petition from Chinese donette tenants in Hongkong which he add the Secretary Chinese Affairs to explain.

Wa cannot

THE CHINA MATE

occupiers, to give them somewhere to live and sleep: it is not to protect trade generally but merely domestic tenementa The tenants' petition asks for schools and club-houses to be included. If they used for human occupation. they

Are included: if

they not, are outside the

are

also been sugg of the Bill. It has that the Bill should provide that tenants should be required to give six months)

onths) mutice, in the case.

tenancies.

of shops, and three months' notice in the case of purely domestic tenancies. If they wish to terminate submit that that is cutside the scope of the Bill. The object of the Bill is to protect tenants, not landlords. lo the present shortage, I think it is no hardship Landlords it tenants leave

Anty ants.

04

ta

всед

on giving the usual notice. I see po reason whatever for altering the terms to the tenants to which the landlords the regular normal development of the

have agreed. The Bill will only be in Colony because, of course,

force

during the

hause shortage, and create houses by Ordinance bus we hope

& bonse shortage a landlord will daring & we have encouraged new building by

have no difficulty in getting fresh ter providing that any houses but after

It is also posed to prohibit this Ordinance comes into force shall be tory names in new leases. This subject has been discussed for many years here entirely unrestricted and a

as to rentals and will they thus get preferential treatment

hd bas always

fourd too difficult existing over

for solution. We could not make a pro- houses. Certain amend- sere published in the Grateffe, but rients were

vision of this kind part of old leases principle the general

and scheme of the

and in

landlord could in pex leases the Buil remain unchanged.

refuse always, Farious

an incept & fang name sad Suggestions

demand an have been made

name. for carrying out the object of the Bill

Another

that proposal is

tenants which the Rents Committee and the

should not be allowed to transfer or Government have been unable to accept.

sub-let without the consent of the land One was the proposal that the percen

lord. I find it rather difheult to dis tage to be charged should be based upon cover the object of this proposa The new tenant cannot legally be required. pre-war rents. That I have dealt with 3 of the Objects and in paragraph

if the tenant transfers his tenancy some- Reasons of the original. Bill: I

would

where else, to pay any more than the oki aly repeat that it would be extremely tenant. If the object of this proposal difficult, in fact it would be impossible. is that the landlord may get to fix or percentage

for the

the whole

**squeeze

gain, which is con or illicit the Colony, I would have to ary in

trary to the spirit of the Ordinance, then Various districts and for

1 submit that we ought not to help different

the classes of

of property

A Rents Board has

langford to get that. There is always been suggested, and possibly that would a danger that a tenant may hand over be the fairest method if the Tents Board to someone else in retur for premium, were emniscient and were

for

THE SECRETARY FOR CHINESE APPURA: Str. I received a petition on behalf of tenants of Hongkong which is signed by 10.142

chop, and as by persatio sigun Tong ask me to represent that E was a st

sort ofhent to petition

To Excellency

1: is

Secretar

Eats of this

to the

has Colonial

To prove that the ten- thank Your They

to

Excellney for

for this Ordinance. asked that they might be permitted to bring it to my with a bind, har though the und would not be necess are me this was the last

Amongst

ther

Th they hart over read, Bodies the t thines Chambers of Com merce in pas Color, nattering 15, hate signed this pytition on behalf of 70% members. It in dieult to find out posented by this

how many people as petition.

t

wood torby that it is Tesser number correct, but I

but I think 136,000 is the minimum eu. Ab 193

作

Right

مریا

guile

representing with of this positiv

aral

the member of Coil, and they ask

the

This Hos 1 in presenting it to

To carry to Council that they be a me to ask you that You should be listed to advisers hut to tell you. Six that having read this Billy they fou that you, the Loverrer. holding justice byer hands, hav dreid tu deal with the people of thi Colony as though they were Four

It is a very volumin

ttle red babies.

ous Ition.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL: I beg to

Asi move the

reading of a Bill in- tituled Au Ordinaue to amend the law relating to the recovery of possession in certain cases and to restrict the rents of evrtain domestic tenements

The seed for some legislation on this subject has been widely recognised. The main objects are to protect tenants frec unreachable increases of their rent and from arbitrary termination of their tea Lancies; in

over the her work, to keep the ro

root

present occupiers and to protect them from excessive exploita tion. It has been pointed out, Sir, that another

the Bill would have also tend to subsidiary effect in that it check

recent rash specula

in

house property which must, if continued. have led to constant increases of

in increased cost of

reaking

and discouragement of trade. The has been

very widely discussed and much

"derived by help has been

the Reats Committer and the Government from the various letters, petitions, reports and other communications received. I would like

to say tha; concrete proposals such as were received on this present Bill are atu welcome. I would like to knowledge

the very great assistance

ac-

to

I have received frors, in the drafting of the Bill, the Lou. member who TO- presents the Justices of the Peace. Thr The Government, Sig, are fully alive to the general and theoretical objectious Ingislation of this kitd, the undesir

of interfering

with the discouraging new buildings and that is why--as you yourself bay

bave Sir-the

sa.d Government have so far held their band for acosiderable time. Bat the situa Elon has become so neate that it has been decided the

thas some action is necessary. As a matter of fact I do nas think the Bill ought to discourage new building because any new buildings finished after the Ordinance comes into operation will be entirely outside its scope. I would Jike, Sir, if I may-it will not take more than a few minutes-to refer again to the policy of the Bill and show how it proposes to work. The two possible Causes, I suppose, of the present short- of housing accommodation are, firat of all, the influx of strangers-refugees- into the Colony and, secondly, the failure part of builders and property of the owners to keep pace with the normal development of the Colony. I do not know how far that second cause affects the result, or whether it an appreci able cause at all, but I will assume, for the

moment, that

it is one of the catisen of the present shortage. The situation created by

by the

working of these two causes has been

aggravated and made intolerable by two subsidiary factors one, the speculation in hose property, which tends to drive ap rents all the time; and, secondly, the greed of certain iandlords.

Bill attacks these twu The subsidiary factors without which the two cases would not have produced position or, at any rate, that posi tion would not have been felt so acterely,

working of economic law, the ERST

age

xaik

the

The two weapons it uses are the pro- visions of standard rent and the prin- ciple of no ejectment. While the Bill Tamsins in force standard rent alone will be payable, and as long as the

tenant pays that rent, and complies with the other terms of

his tenancy, he cannot be tamped nut. With regard to the inflex elsewhere. The Bill of strangers

from that the present.occupiers, who provides sure permanent residents of the Colony, shall not be turned out of their houses to make way for people coming in from outside: It is not possible to attack the other main cause, fic., the failure of the property owners to keep pace with

sitting and could work size:ently

only

ID 5

An-

"The

increased rent, and risk the or ac quick

tenant taking

the law in

against him. hy, but there would be great uncertainty.

submit we ought not to help the land- the deity would be

lard to great and there

that illicit gain and there would be

of great

is ca reason for this proposal. Certain publi expeditur and private time. I should

persoas have asked as to farmers leases. very much dash whether the decisions of

that

They are not extended by the Bill. No Bard could be made so uniform

that

covers as to

more than a single be equally fair in all cases.

building is extended by the Bill. Az alt events, it is not a proposal which we ather proposal is that the Bill should felt cold be produced at such short

provide that rent should be recoverable notice. Agaze, it is proposed that one of the subsidiary factors spoke of just now, ... the greed of certain landlords. and chiefy of farmers of house property, should be checked by

ked by providing that farm- ers of house property should be allowed to collect from the tenants below them only a certain percentage of what they thend selves pay to their superior landlord. We found that was unworkable: different rates would have to be for diferent parts of the Colony and

olony and different kinds of property in the same district. Some property would be perfectly safe; I do not suppose that tenaars on the Peak or Bonham Strand often abscout with out paying their rent, but in other parts of the Colvay it as a real danger.

Another proposal

which

was made in report of the

the Chinese of Commerce

was that the second subsidiary factor, that of lation in land, should be checked by providing that no rent should be raised for one year after the purchase of

nf house That would be a property. er and longer interference ordinary with great ceonemic laws than the interference pro- posed by this Bill. because it

suse it would last,

the

very Chamber

abl

fixel

in some cases, for at least

உ

to

cast two years and

it would be also very difficult to keep track of the rents charged because, under the scheme which it is part of. it is proposed that landlords should still have power

in certain cvict circumstances. When a tenant was turn. ed out and a new tenant came in the latter might not know what the late rent was and be

charged be impossible to keep track of all these reats, and the provision, I have no doubt, would be

much higher. be

very

WC

very largely evaded. It is suggested, als, that the collection of

mey should be

prohibited, but felt that in a Bill already rather excep tional it would be unwise further to disturb existing practices by prohibiting a custom which, bad as it may be, is certainly widespread. While the Bill re- mains in operation there is no reason why anyone should be forced to pay aur albe money because the weapon in the past for the exaction of shoe money has been the threat of eviction and if

man pays the

standard

excessiva

rent, as long as the Bill remains in force, that man cannot be turned out. I hope the publicity given to the Bill will result in tenants realising this fact." Another proposal was that buyers of property for their own occupation

should be able to enter ifto occupation even if no other accommodation could be found for the tenants who were ejected. I tried to draw up something to meet this, but found it very difficult in de

I also think it is not neccesary. The buyer, if he is buying a house to live in, is either a resident here already or he is someone from outside. If be is a resident, he has

a bouse in which

tail

is a

I

he is living now and can continue.

stranger, then I would say the permanent residents hero a a greater claim to its use. If it is

t is an old busines

& many

bap either his old premises in which be car remain, or, if it is a new business, then 1 again, that the old estab listed busincases have the greater claim on us than any new businesses. But the rock upon which the proposal would split is the difficulty of providing against bad faith. The buyer would always say he intended to start a business but failure to secure capital, or arrange credita, or other circumstances over which he had no control had prevented his doing so and he would pr seed to let the house to somebody sise.

suggestion is

is made that the Bill should not apply to existing leases con- taining clause to the effect that on sale of the property the landlord should be entitled to turn out the tenants by giving a certain length of notice. Bre told there

are many of these cases. If there are, I think that any

provision of this kind would cause very/great hardship. For example, it would result in what is known as the Broadwood Tertzce case being taken out of the acope of the Bill altogether. It is also proposed that the Bill should be extend- ed to the case of offices and godowns, That case depends on entirely different considerations from the case of domestic tenements. The object of the Bill is to "keep's root over the hende of existing

in respect of calendar months. When the Republic was founded the attempt was made to introduce the Gregorian calendar but I understand that the Chinese generally use the old calendar, except in dealings wath

Euro- peans, and I think it would be a mistake to deal with such

very widespread custom as the see of the Chinese moon Instead of the calendar month. only other proposal I want to mention is that the standard reat should be taken as the rest on the 30th June pro- vided it is not more than 10 per cent. over the rent on the 31st December. We find that the rents last December were so high and have been increased since then that these cases were so numerous -that we thought the fair thing would be to

take the rent

31st December.

would like to mention shortly the Principal amendments which I will pro- pase in the Bill. The first one appears

10

04

the

paragraph (b) to clause 2 and the effect of it is to bring within the Bill every hotel and boarding house falling within the boarding house

There rules, are six classes of boarding houses affect- ed: Chinese hotels, 1st and

end.

class boarding houses, emigrants

lodging houses, places where employers of labour lodge their employés, and Chinese Sea- men's boarding bouses. include these because they are so very We propose to generally used not merely by visitors but by permanent residents and also by persons whose presence here is

is essential to the trade of the Colony. It is posed to add a further paragraph to sab clause 1 of clause 4 providing that, if

lessor bona fide requires possession of the domestic tenement to pull it down or to reconstruct it so as to make it new building under the Public Health Ordinance, then he shall be

to entitled turn the tenant out on giving three months' notice. An amendment to sub- clause 6 of clause 4-is intended to pro vide that

nothing in this Ordinance is affect the operation

of the sections of the Public Health Ordinance which give power LO turn

tenants out of house, without any notice at all, when it has become dangerous. The proposed new sub-clause of clause 4 is taken from the English Act and provides that if the lessor has obtained possession and it is made to appear subsequently that the order was obtained by concealment Court may Award such

to the tenant as it may think it. It is also proposed to add six clausos to the Bill, Nos. 12 to Clause 12 will give the assessor power to alter the valuation where the present valuation is based on rents higher than the rents last December. It is only fair that if à landlord has

higher &gure on account of in- creased rent and is now going back to the December rent his assesment should also be reduced. There are two drafts of Clause 13: the clause which it is now proposed to move is the second draft.

provides that:

or

represerve to the

17.

turned

DAD.FO

the rent recoverable from the tenant in actual occupation of any domestic tenement on the 31st day of December, 1930

(a) was a rent which had been agreed upon in writing at

Kome date before the 1st day of January, 1918, or (6) was not higher than the rent re coverable from the tenant in actual oc cupation on the let day of January, 1918, it call be lawful for the lessor at such tenement to apply to the court to fix such other rent than the standard rent As the court shell think fit as the rent to be paid in respect of such tenement the continuance of this Ordin. during ance, provided that nothing in this section shall affect any rent which be- camer dus before the commencement of this Ordinazce, and provided that no- thing in this section shall entitle, any. lessor, during the currency of any written lease of any domestic tenement for s definite and unexpired term, to any rent

gher than the

rent reserved in, such

lease..

akon because 1st January was takep that, was just before the rents of pro perty began to go up. We understand that the rents of Cainese property began to rise early in 1918 and of European property not materially til, o

that.

the middle, of the next year, Bid" we Lelt it was imposible to discriminate, between the two clamen, of property.

Claase 14 provides that the Court may allow the lesser to charge a higher rent if he has spent or is spending $300 up wards in improvement of the property which would have the effect of increasing the rateable value.

Clause 13 providea, in effect, that if a man is lessee of two or three houses. and keep one or two floors himself for

hik

expire and servants, and his lease

he shall not be entitled to keep possession of the whole of the property. The bulk of it back to the landlord

it goes to let to a new tenset-or the old one

and to the Several Honourable Mem- bera of the Legislative Council of Eongkong-

The Humble Petition of Li Wai Po. Chung Ting Chiu, Wong Sing Fai, Tang Huz

8. Tmi Kin Kwok, Tung

Nam

Leun P. Chiu Wai, Leung Shiu Kap, Fung Im. Chin Wong Shi, Ez To Shun Cheng Taes, Leung

Chi

Lam, Chan Hoi Lam. Ho Cheut Leung Sai-Chan, Te Wai, Chan King Sing

Yuen Sam, Lau Ăn Chơi. Tam Chai Tat, Pen Ho, Wong Ping Tng, Chan Ka Ming, Chan Ka On. and Chan Shing Lee all of Victoria in the Colony of Hongkong, Property Owners.

Luk Choi Tisk ans

Cheung Shi retain

but the latter is only entitled to r Possession of the part he occupies him self, so that any advantage of increased rents will go to the landlord and not to the lessee. That is only fair, becaus the tenant's lease is caly for a definite term and that term-in the ease. I hap put-will have expired. Clause 16 deals with shoe

It does not pro-

shoe money hibit it. generally, but provides that no Person shall, as a condition or a

Pre- tended condition of the grant, renewal or continuance, by himself or any other arnancy at any domestic person, of a tenement.

demand payment of any sum money whatsoever in addition to the reat. Anyone who does so is able to a fine of $1,000.

of

Clause 1 provides that any tent nɔ: payable under the Ordinance which has been paid by mistake can be recovered from the landlord and stopped out of the next rent payable. I beg. Sir, to move the

reading- De second The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL formally mor and the CotosIL SECRETARY second- ed, "that counsel who were present (in wig and gowo) to support petitions for and against the Bill, should be heard by the Council.

The motion was agreed to

MR. ALABASTER'S ADDRESS IN OPPOSITION.

Mr. C. G. ALABASTER said: May it please your Excellency and members of the Council, Lam instructed by a pro- prietors of domestic tenements in Hoog- kong who represent between them many millions of dollars of invested money, to present their petition, copies of which are, I think, in the hands of all the mem. bers of this honourable council, and to represent their views on this matter, do so at the risk of

described

I have already-ben being described, as ped in a peti- tion in anticipation, as a "counsellor of evil for it is a principle of that British justice, which is represented by the law and is to be found in those in stitutions, such as this where the law is made, that all sides are entitied to a hear- ing and all sides are entitled to be re- presentad

by spokesmo.

Now this Bill

is opposed by those I present, and

many more who have not bad time to prepare or sign

petitions, because

it is a bad Bill. It is a Bill which 31 confessed in the memorandum

of Objects and Reasons, was prepared ja a hurry, which does not carry out the Biggestions on which the Committee appointed was instructed to act, and which attempts to meet a situation which is not a sudden emergency but which is the result of a

of causes which have operated during

number contributing

last 10 or 15 years and which this Bill does nothing to remove-in fact which this Bill does much to Accentuate. The chief of these causes has been the policy of the Land Sales Department of this Colour. The harassing restrictions which are placed in the way of every applicant for land, in whatever part of the Colony he may be, has forced people. who are desirous to build to go as far as possible into the market and buy private land in preference to Government land. They

will rather pay more and be sure they get the land they ask for than take months and months of trouble, resulting in the land being purchased by someone else. This is haps

one of the causes, and per- the main cause, of the situation which has brought this Bill about. The second cause is the fact that the military autharities own large sections of land in the centre of the town which they do not requira and which they do not put to use. That has caused a congestion which is inevitable and led to the law of

suppiy and demand of private property scaring to great heights.

And the third and mere temporary cause is the general trade slump which started about a year ago. After the war there was a trade boom and money was locked up in trade, bat the trade slump has caused money which would otherwise be invested in commercial enterprises being devoted to purchase of shares, or the acquisition

the

of landed property, with the result that both shares and land in this Colony bare recently boomed. The money was legi- timistely invested and faith that the investors would get an

invested

on the adequate return for the money invested. Properties have changed hands in the last few months, not only on the basis of the rents then paid bat on the basis of the return the landlord expected to get for his money, the law allowing him to increase his rents, and that is why a Bill such as this, which

destroys tho sanctity of contract, and which is r trospective, will destroy that very con fidence on which all trade and all invest- ment is based. So far from leading to further bailding it will make further building in this Colony almost impos sible, for once the Government actions the principle of retrospective Icgislation

there is no limit to the amount of retros pective legislation which may be subse quently introduced and so one

will know what return be may get upon his money. Clans 3 of the Bill Rates that. "notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, whether made before or after the contmencement of this Ordinance, and whether oral or in writing, ao font shall be proverable" eroent the standard rent and that rent was fed as the int of last December. One of the romulte në this will be that persons who hare, with sesistance of the law. evicted the tenants

nts of last year he offering to pay A higher

rent take the place will now. he protected and permitted to pay, ONİYY the rent that was paid be the pennie that they therole dispered.. I think tha greatest poshia nhiecting in this Bin the clause which, Braw the 21+ Tisgehen. last year as the data at which the stand- ard rent should be fired.

If it in Benas.

the fix a standard rent surely the rent of the 20th June would be better one, for at that date it was known thas the Government contres plaiad much a Bill and subseruent purchases of property, if any, have been waigen that unflabriand- ing With your Expellency's permission I will read the petition as I

TO HIS KETKILIMOY MIR BEGINALD EDWARD

Govenia and Commander-in-Chief; of, the Colony of Hongkong and its Depen

bad Vice Admiral of the scie

Shewrth:-

1-That your petitioners are proprie ters of domestic tenements in Hongkong and desire to point out to Your Excel- Incy and Honorable Members of the

Connci!

nei! certain objections to

Legislative A Ordinance to amend the

the

law relating to the recovery of possession in certain cases and to restrict the rents. uf certain domestic tenementa and to Barad the Rating Ordinance. 1901 (hereinafter called the Bill").

-Your petitioners ser:ly believe that their views as expressed in this petition are shared by a large majority of the owners of domestic tenements in Hong- kong.

That your petitioners view with alarm the principle of the whole Bill as unduly interfering with the law of supply and demand and as

as tending to prevent the free development of the Colony. That

Fotwithstandin the ceptions contained i

Bill as newly erected property your petitioners do not believe this will lead to the erection of any considerable number of domestic tevements seeing tha

that there

Ex-

no guarantee contained in the Bill that a similar Bill will not be passed in the near future bringing such newly erected property within its provisions.

Tour petitioners, therefore, humbly beg to submit that & provision be added to the Bill providing that all buildings now in course of erection or hereafter to be erected shall be excluded from the pro visions of this or any. Bill to the like effect for a period of at least 18 years.

4.-Your petitioners also buntly beg submit that this Bill it passed will 2 serious fall in the ralue of

tenements and that a

conside domestic Able lose will fall on those persons who have recently purchased property on the basis of the

rentals now prevailing in the Colony,

to

he

5.-Your petitioners furiber humbly submit that the Ordinance should not made retrospective but that the stand- ard rent should be the reo: pasable on the coming into force of the Bill which should not be a date earlier than the date upon which the Ordinance receives the assent of His Excellency the Gover car for the following reasons:-

(a) That purchasers of property since the 31st day of December, 1990, have purchased the same on the basis of the rentals payable at the time of purchase and on the basis of the rents which your petitioners knew the tenants were willing to pay in respect of the properties occupied by them.

(b) That mortgagees have lent money on such properties the amount of loan being based upon the value of the property calculated on the rents receivable at the time of the mortgage and on the ssicable value of similar property in the open market which valde based not only upon the rentals then paid but on the demand for domestic tenements in Hongkong. 6.That in many instances property sold since the 31st day December, 1930, if the standard rent is fixed at the rest on the cat day of Desember 1920 would not be sufficient to pay rates insurance repairs and interest on racrtgages and give " Lair return on the purchase

Your petitioners further bambly submit that in respect of domestic tene ments which require extensive repairs ecessitating a large outlay the passing of the Bill will make it impossible to execute such repairs and obtain a fair return on the

expended money 6-Your petitioners, therefore, humbly submit that a provision should be added to the Bill allowing the standard rent to be increased by 15 per cent. per aanm on the amount expended in such repairs and rot 8 per cent, on and above $500 as in the proposed amendments to the said Bill.

B-Your petitioners further humbly submit that unless the 15 per cent men- tioned in paragraph 8 of this Petition be allowed one of the consequences of the passing of the Bill will be that ownerz of

property in a poor state of repair will refrain from executing repairs and will

the allow

property

to be rondemned under the provisions of the Public Health and Baildings Ordinance 1903 buildings not subject to while new to the provisions of the Bill will be erected and the tenants of

buildings

60 condemned will be

forced

to go into such new build inga and new build

new buildings not subject to the Bill will thereupon be built on the Aise

of the condemned buildings 10-You

the

submit that Petitioners further humbly

definition of domestic tenements contained in Section 3 (b) of the Bill is worded se se to include shops and they desire that the sub-sec- tion shall be altered so as to exclude abops.

Objects and Reasons that it does not include shops, unites the man of his employer live on the premises. Bat I am unable to accept that as a true reason of the clause which states that a domestic tenement includes wory building which is subject to a separate letting and which is used wholly or in part for human habitation, for it is common knowledge thas in this Colony the upper foots of preenises which are used as domestic pre- males are employed and let out as shops on the grand floor,

11. Your politioners farther humbly spberit that in addition to the case in which notice can be given to a tenant under the Bill a trovision should be in- sorted to 4 (1)-(0)-allowing lemors to to tenants in cases where

Rivo provide sccommodation

to

for their own families or relatives upon the condition

as are provided in Section 4 of the Bill In addition your petitioners beg to submit that the pro cedure in Section 4-(1) (6) (d) and (e) of relating to the Court, the right of lemor to give a notice to gais

cumbersome and likely to cause much discontent and litigation and beg to suggest that in addition to the showe procedure an alternative shogki be pro- vided allowing the lessor to months' notice in the case of domestic tenements without reference to the Court and without the recessity of providing suitable accommodation.

COMMEN

Mr. ALABASTER: It is a practice among wealthy Chinese to house their relatives and it is reasonable that the causes which entitle them to torer from a tenant should be extended jo order that their families and relatives be provided with accommodation upon the same conditions as are provided in Beg tion of the Bill.

19-Your petitioners further beg to subprit that the suitabilty of the accom modation to be provided by a landlord on being allowed to give notice to a tenant should be more strictly defined.

Tour petitioners therefore kumably pray that Your Excellency and the several Honourable Members of the Legislave Council will be placed so take into consideration the foregoing submissions of

your petitioners with a view to the rejection of the said Bill or the amendment thereof in atter to meet your petitioners' submission.

And your petitioners will ever pray, etc.

Mr. ALIRISTER added: There is another petition which is. I believe, being signed at the present moment. The landlords have been in this difficulty as against the tenants with regard to this Bill: It is Easy to draft petition which requires all praise and to amendment, but the Government inserted in the Gazelle on Saturday a number of proposed amendments all of which had to be con sidered in the criticising of the petitions which were being drafted, and the peti tion I have just read has had to be entirely re-drafted since Saturday. This other petition, which will probably be prosented to-night or to-morrow, when-

it is signed, contains

certain ments which, with your permission. I will Arg- incorporate as part of my argument

In this case the petitioners humbly state:-(a) That such Ordinance is not necessary, is uncalled for, and is an un- warrasted interference with the right of free curet;

(6)

That rents generally

That

are not unwarantably high, having re gard to the cost of building and repairs; (c) The proposed Ordinance is gTORS. interference with the law of supply and, demand-tording of this petition is not mine); (4) A low inch as that pro posed wili usimine the confidence of the Chinese

the generally

Government of this Colony: (e) large properties in this Colous have been recently pur chased by your petitioners and others based on the present rentals of such pre- mises; The present influx of people from China does not consist of people of the poorer clans but of the wealthy classes whe

she bring much wealth to the Colony.

accommodation is not found for these people, the money of whom will stay permanently in the Colony, the Colony will be deprived of many benefits it would receive: (a) That the proposed Ordinance is in derogation of the Crown leases whereia no provision is made for the restriction of rent; () That bad more. Cary facilities been given for the Knating of Crown land, less hara restrictions imposed, and less afficial cbstruction. the present position would tever. have arisen.

Your ther state that if an Ordinance such as

petitioners fur proposed is indispensable in the intereste of the Colony then it should be on the following basis: It should be enforced for a period of one year and no more. with a guarantee that it will not be renewed.

The standard rent should be on the basis of rent payable on the st July, 1991, but, if rents had been i created more than 20 31st December, 1990, then the standard per cent since the ahould be equivalent to the rent paid at the 31st December plux 20 per cent. That legal authority for potice to quit premises should be three months in the case of residential and six months in the

case of

shop property. perids are required they can be arrang."

longer ed by agreement. In the Ordinance no provision is made for urcompleted con. tracts for sale.. One can anticipate's great deal of litigation arising out of this

Bill. Ther is little or no protection. against sub-letting. I should like to say a few words about the

I CA nothing in this Bill which will prevent the greatest extortion which exists in this Colony and that is the reat charged by

1000

is generally a woman-the principal tenant of the Roer who rents ont cubicle space and bed spaces. It would have been better. I submit, to have adopted a standard rent as from to-day na a teen- Dorary mesentre to permit of persons who have had their rents raised since the resolution increasing the rates to submit their care to a board of three who could decide whether the rent was raised in consequence of that resolution or other. wise justified. and to abolish all other clause of this Bill. Ent this Bill the I have said before, does not attempt to meet the evil, which is that if the public is to be restrained from charging too much for this private land it can be by releasing more public land only for private use.

Mr. F. C. JENKIS: I am in the for- tubate position of appearing," on the instructions of Mr. Wilkinson, for the tenants. and therefore am not in the saza category my friend. Mr. Alabaster. I am here merely to voice to Your Excellency the enthusiasm and gratitude of the tenants, M wit nesand by the petition the Honour- able Becretary for Chinese Affairs has put in this afternoon, and their grati tade at the reception accorded their peti- tion by the members of this Concil and the Committee appointed by this Cean- cil. There is only one matter in tion with which I would sk your Excel- leney's indulgency and that is with me. gard to one of the sections of the Bill and an amendment which was proposed io Baturday's Gazette under subsection (d) of wetion 4. I do not know whether it would be more appropriate, that I should address myself to that in Com- mittee

дег

BC-

Hit BECLANCY: I think the Council would prefer y

you to deal with the matter Mr. JENKINY section deals with the restrictions on the right to possession and the protection of tenants against eject ment. The proposal is to put in after the words "to quit in the Arst line the worde

mr. has or aball have agreed in writing to quit

The proposed addi tion was in odramon with the rest of the *action, retroepective in effect, had would mes that the Court would be entitled to make an order of Bjectment against any tepant who. Prior to the coming into force of this Ordianvoet trend in

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