HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL.
A meeting of the Hongkong Legislative Council was held on October 31st at the Council Chamber.
SIR
F.
The following were present:- HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR, FRANCIS HENRY MAY, K.C.M.G.
His EXCELLENCY MAJOR-GENERAL VENTRIS (General Officer Commanding Froops in China).
Hon. Mr. CLAUD SEVERN (Colonial Secretary).
Hon. Mr. J. H. KEMP (Attorney General).
Hon. Mr. A. M. THOMSON (Colonial
Treasurer).
Hon. Mr. E. R. HALLIFAX (Secretary for Chinese Affairs).
Hon. Mr. W. CHATHAM, C.M.G. (Director of Public Works),
Hon. Mr. C. McI. MESSER (Captain Superintendent of Police).
Hon. Mr. WEI YUK, C.M.G.
Hon. Mr. H. E. POLLOCK, K.C.
Hon. Mr. E. SHELLIM.
Hon. Mr. D. LANDALE.
Hon. Mr. LAU CHU PAK.
Hon. Mr. P. H. HOLYOAK.
Mr. A. G. M. FLETCHER (Clerk of Coun- cils).
MINUTES.
The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed.
PAPERS.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of H.E. the Governor, laid on the table Sessional Paper, 16, being an abstract showing the difference between the esti- mates of expenditure for 1916 and 1917.
FINANCE.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by coinmand of H. E. the Governor, laid upon the table report of meeting of the Finance Com- mittee held on October 17th (No. 8), and moved that it be adopted.
The COLONIAL TREASURER Seconded, and this was agreed to.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of H. E. the Governor, laid upon the table Financial Minutes Nos. 34 to 38, and moved that they be referred Finance Committee.
UNOFFICIAL REPRESENTATION. Hon. Mr. H. E. With
to the
POLLOCK asked:-
1.-(i.) (a) 1913, $8,400; 1914, $6,323; 191 $7,811. Owing to delay in presen tation of the account a sum of $539 in respect of drugs ordered for 1914 was not paid until 1915. It is regretted that a mistake was made in respect of the total expenditure in 1914. The amount was
$9,781.
think fit. But, with all due deference, I venture to submit that that should be stated in Council. I think that your Excellency--and I say this again with all due deference has no right to pre vent questions being asked. Your Ex cellency could have said that, for certain reasons, the question could not be an- swered. My position-and I am still speaking on the point of order is this: About half the local expenditure in 3.)-The balance was spent locally. Might I send the Clerk of the Council's 1914 was in respect of requirements which letter to the Press so that people might could not have been foreseen. be informed why the question suddenly.)-Yes, in some instances.
from and mysteriously vanishes agenda? I take it, Sir, I am at liberty to send the letter of the Clerk of the Council the Press; otherwise, appears that the question which has been put, and of which notice had been given publicly, suddenly and mysteriously dis- appeared into the void without any ex- planation at all.
to
the
it
(ii):
(ii)--1914, $2,742; 1913, $2,785. 2.-(i)-On the 22nd August. September 1, 6-15, 19-30. October 1, 4, 9-12. On no occasion was the Sister without a Nurse's assistance. Owing to leave and sickness it was not possible to give effect to the allocation arranged by H.E the Governor. Since the 28th July three Sisters have been granted long HIS EXCELLENCY I have no objection leave to England, one sister was on to the hon. member sending the letter to sick leave from the 8th to the 17th the Press.
As regards my power to September, and one has been similarly refuse to accept a question, that has
absent from the 13th September up to been established by precedent in the date; while under the new system of House of Commons, and it has certainly granting one and if possible two days been established here by various preced-off in the month 11 days off were given ents. I regret very much that the ques- tion of the hon. member found its way into the Orders of the Day; that was quite inadvertent.
GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL. Hon. Mr. H. E. POLLOCK asked:
1. Of the sums of $9,905, $10,147, and $9,714 stated at the last meeting of Coun- cil to have been expended in the years 1913, 1914, and 1915, respectively, will the Government state
(i). How much of that expenditure represents drugs and disinfec- tants
(a) supplied from home; (b) purchased locally? (i). Whether it is not the fact that the price of drugs and disinfec- tants has gone up considerably since the beginning of the war,
with the result that the same sum of money purchased considerably less drugs and disinfectants since the war than it did before the
war?
to the Sisters in August, 11 days in September and 5 days in October up to the 12th instant. This short leave absorbs one Sister.
3. The value of the consignment was $501.89
A CORRECTION.
His EXCELLENCY-Before proceeding with the Orders of the Day I should like to correct a statement which I made at In the last meeting of the Council. summing up the charitable and other contributions made by this Colony to the war, I said that the Tai Yau Bank had contributed one aeroplane at a. cost of £1,500, and that the community of Hongkong had contributed two aero- planes at a cost of £3,000. As a matter of fact, the Tai Yau Bank contributed half the cost of three aeroplanes, and the Hongkong community the other half. Therefore the Tai Yau Bank's contri- bution was considerably larger than I stated. I regret the error,
TRUSTEES' ORDINANCE.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL introduced
a
(ii).—Whether any savings were effected on the amounts voted for drugs and disinfectants in the years 1914 and 1915 or either of them, Bill intituled, "An Ordinance to amend and, if 80,
what were the Trustees Ordinance, 1901.'
the amounts of such savings? 2.-With reference
The Objects and Reasons state that to the morning the object of th's Bill is to empower
the
at the
Council
authorised by the recent War Loan Ordi- 3rd August last, nince, 1916.
cellency the Governor Meeting of namely:-
A BLOCK.
Morning, 1 Sister on each floor;
the Government state Operating Theatre, 1 Sister;
The COLONIAL Secretary seconded. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL then moved the suspension of the Standing Orders to allow of the Bill being taken through the remaining stages at that meeting.
reference to the following allocation of Sisters at the Civil Hos statements in paragraph 5 of the De-pital which was announced by His Ex-trustees to invest trust funds in the loan spatch of His Excellency the Governor, of the 28th May, 1916, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the subject of the recent Petition for greater repre- sentation of the public on the Executive and Legislative Councils, namely:-" It is quite impracticable to apply the prin-will ciple of election to appointments to a body like the Executive Council and it does not seem necessary to set out the very obvious reasons for which such a proposal could not be entertained" : Will the Government state what are the reasons why such a proposal could not be entertained-?
The COLONIAL SECRETARY replied-The Government is not prepared to make a statement on the subject.
Hon. Mr. H. E. POLLOCK--I rise to a point of order with regard to question 2-Will the Government also state for what reasons two out of the four non- Chinese Unofficial Members of the Legis- lative Council are Government nominees instead of being elected as Members 1- not having been answered. Of course, I quite appreciate the fact, from the letter addressed to me by the Clerk of the Council, that your Excellency has it in your power to decline, for certain reasons, to answer questions which
you
(i). On what dates between the 22nd The COLONIAL SECRETARY Seconded, and
August and the date of these this was agreed to. Questions (12th October) it has The ATTORNEY-GENERAL then moved the been found possible to arry out second reading of the Bill. In doing so the said intended mornig scheme he said: The object of the Bill, Sir, is of allocation, namely, 1 Sister to give trustees power to invest trust
on each floor of A Blok, and a separate Sister for the Oper Theatre; and
(ii)-On what dates, between t
dates, One Sister alone h to attend in the morning not only to the two floors in A Block but also to the Operating Theatre as well, that is to say, to do work which, under the above scheme of allocation, is supposed to be done by three Sisters ?
funds in the Hongkong War Loan,
COLONIAL SECRETARY Seconded, and Bill was read a second time. Council then went into Committee to. Consider the Bill clause by clause. without amendment, and on Council re- The Bill passed through Committee
suming,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved that the Bill be read a third time.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and
3. What was the value of the drugs the Bill was then read a third time and
and
disinfectants, oorsigned
to
the
Hongkong Government, which went down in the Yasaka Maru in December, 1915 1
The COLONIAL SECRETARY replied as follow:-
passed.
THE BUDGET. The COLONIAL SECRETARY moved the An second reading of the Bill intituled, Ordinance to apply a sum not exceeding ight million, six hundred and five thou
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