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Enclosure 9
The Daily Press.
HONGKONG, JULY 26th, 1898.
HONGKONG LEGISLÁTIVE
COUNCIL
A meeting of the Hongkong Legislative Council was held in the Council Chamber yes- terday afternoon. Present:--
His EXCELLENCY the ACTING GOVERNOR, Major-General BLACK, C.B. (Officer Com- manding the Forces).
Hou, T. SERCOMBE Colonial Secretary).
SMITH (Acting
"Hon. W. M. GOODMAN (Attorney-General), Hon. A. M. THOMPSON (Acting Colonial Treasurer).
Hon. R. MURRAY RUMSEY (Harbour Master). Hon. R. D. ORMSBY (Director of Public Works).
Hon. F. H. MAY, C.M.G. (Captain Super- intendent of Police).
Hou, C. P. CHATER, C.M.G.
Hon. Ho KAI
Hou. T. H. WHITEHEAD.
Hou. E. R. BELILIOS, C.M.G.
Hon J. J. BELL-IRVING.
Hou WET A YUK.
Mr. J. G. T. BUCKLE (Clerk of Councils).
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THE RECREATION GROUND AT CAUSEWAY
BAY.
Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD-I bave great plea- sure in rising to move the resolution which stands in my name. A considerable time before Your Excellency look up the reins of govern. ment the movement for the reservation of Causeway Bay for the purposes of general recreation received your cordial approval. In support of the motion I will, with Your Excel- lenoy's permission, read the memorial on the subject to our former Governor. The petition. was signed by practically the whole community and was sent in to the Government before Sir. William Robinson left Hongkong in the begin- ning of the year.
"To His Excellency Sir William Robinson, GC.M.G., Goveruor and Commander-in- Chief of the Colony of Hongkong and Vice Admiral.
The Memorial and Petition of the under-
signed Residents of Hongkong. Respectfully sheweth :---
1.That the population of the colony of Hongkong is steadily increasing, each year shewing, on the average, an addition to the Chinese population of apwards of six thousand men, women, and children; that the European population is also gradually increasing in num- bers; that from the altered conditions of trade and commerce men are now compelled to remain in the colony for much longer periods than heretofore and are marrying and settling down hore with the result that the juvenile popula- tion is very largely augmented, and that a very considerable proportion of them are being ode cated and brought up in the colony, instead of, as formerly, being sent to Europe.
"2.-That within the limits of the city of Victoria all available land is being closely built over; houses are rising in height to three, four, and five stories; the consumption of coal instead of wood is largely increasing as are also manu- facturing industries of various kinds, with the resnit that within the city, even on the upper roads, it is difficult to get the pure air, exercise, and recreation that is essential for the preserva- tion of health in this olimate.
"3.-That the necessity therefore for open spaces ontsido of the limits of the city is becoming daily more manifest and more urgent, and that the one piece of ground now appre priated to the use of the public-the area within the Race Course in the Wong-nei-chong valley-is insufficient for the needs and require- ments of the population,
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4That in addition to the elvil populatiðu there is always present in thejedlogy a garristas of over three thousand men, aud, of some period.| of each year, generally during the winter mouths, a large naval force is in the harbour of 1 Hougkong for which provision has to be made. and that at such times the accommodation for recreation in the Wong-nei chong Ground is wholly insufficient and will still be insufficient feven after the piece of land to the northward along the banks of the Bowrington Canal hus beon added thereto.
5. That there is now vacant and unappro- priated at Causeway Bay a limited area of level ground, open to the sea and easily accessible by road, now temporarily nsed, under permission from the Government, for purposes of recrea- tion; that this piece of ground although open for sale for building purposes for a number of years has remained uusold. the Chinese being apparently still unwilling to move out into that quarter of the city, that even should this neighbourhood ultimately become, contrary to present appearances, a densely populated neigh- bourhood inhabited mainly by Chinese, it will be highly desirable that some sufficient area should be maintained in the midst thereof for purposes of light, of ventilation, of recreation, and as a lang. or breathing space for the locality. The ground now referred to, situate Dearly between Jardine's Bazaar and North Poiut, is admirably suited to serve for such a purpose, and its reservation as an open space will not only materially add to the value of the neighbourhood, but it will permanently promote the physical health and happiness of large numbers of the residents.
"Your petitioners therefore humbly pray: "That iù commemoration of the completion of the sixtieth year of Hor Majesty's Reign the piece of ground in question, situate at Cause. way Bay, bounded on the north by the Causes, way Bay Boad, on the south and west by the Quarry Bay Road and Inland Lot 1,149 (Kennedy's Stables), and on the east by the. Nallah, running from the Quarry Bay Road to the Causeway Road, may be by Ordinance reserved as a public and open space for ever, may be called the Queen's Recreation Ground' and may, under Regulations to be ombodied in the Ordinance, he dedicated to the purposes of general public recreation for all nationalities.
"Your petitioners further pray that if, in the future, the present harbour of refuge at Causeway Bay should be reclaimed, then such portion of the newly reclaimed land may be set. apart as an addition to the "Queen's Recrea tion Ground" as may be sufficient to provide for a further increase to the limited level spaces in the colony available for recreation, which will in time be again rendered necessary by the growth of the population.
"And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will over pray, &c., &c., &c.
Hongkong, 24th June, 1897.”
Since the memorial was drafted, some two years ago, the necessity for open space at Causeway Bay has been emphasised by the selection of a site on the west side, in the immediate neighbourhod, for a gigantic cotton spinning, weaving, and dyeing factory which will materially add to the population of the district by the large number of workers-men, women, and children-employed therein, and by the shopkeepers and tradespeople who will follow in their wake. On the other or eastern side of the Bay the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., Lankat, have already constructed oil tanks, a tin-can factory, store rooms, and a landing wharf. Dwelling houses for the Company's workpeople are now covering bath sides of the road from North Point towards Causeway Bay. The Dew Roformatory, recently decided upon, is to be erected On the slope of the hill adjoining Causeway Bay on the south, and as the site will hardly afford space enough for adequato recreation of the inmates, it will be all the better if Conseway Bay ground is reserved as an open space. It is impossible to over-estimate the great importance of re- creation in the life of the people. From a
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physiological
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