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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
II. E. THE GOVERNOR--The object of the Bill is not to stop drinking. The Colonial Secretary never said 2 word about that.
HON. MR. S. H. DODWELL-1 grant you it is a measure which is in force at Home, but you know, Sir, as. well as I do the reasons for it at Home. and that they do not exist in this Colony.
HON. MR. H. E. POLLOCK-1 am
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
convenient or
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY They poke to me in exactly the same way.
understand hotel-keeping myself, but compradores. This has been stopped with broadly and generally, it is obviously excellent results. I can hardly credit the undesirable to multiply classes of offence presume that these letters, which are ritten, no doubt, after conference with hotels taking the place of those com- for which men can be hauled up before
the managers of the hotels. represent pradores, and if they do, that is the a Police Magistrate and fined, and it is affair and they will suffer for it. During particularly undesirable in regard to a torrectly the views of these managers, and presume that these hotel managers, from your régime, Sir, I maintain that you matter like this, which affects strangers
bring in charge of these two big hotels, have done the maximum that any coming within our gates who, whatever Governor could do in the interests of may be thought of residents of this may be taken as reasonably competent sobriety. You have pushed on the Colony, cannot be expected reasonably to dges of how hotel business should be improvement of the roads; you have taken be acquainted with the laws of this carried on and what is a deep interest in and greatly facilitated Colony. And yet, Sir, what do we and convenient in carrying on such business. the making of our golf course at Fanling: We find that under Clause 5 of this Billefore reading the letters I should make remark in answer to what the Colonial in fact you have done everything to widen it is positively and solemnly proposed not the scope of healthy outdoor exercise and that every buyer who does anything Secretary, said about the directors of hotels. I have spoken to two of the do away with that cooped-up feeling, wrong, or anything known to be wrong. which in the past must have been a great should be punished. but that a buyer shall they felt in their hearts as the Colonial directors of the Hongkong Hotel, and if incentive to intemperance. Don't belittle be punished because seller does koffie- it now, Sir, with this poor impotent little thing wrong. Clause 5 reads, Every Secretary supposed all I can say is that what they said to me, and the clear and Bill.
person to whom any liquar is supplied in contravention of this Ordinance shall also definite views they gave me personally, ire absolutely at variance with their sup>- be guilty of an offence against this Ordin-
bosed views as pictured by the lively ance." If a seller supplies liquor con- trary to the provisions of this Ordinance nagination of the Colonial Secretary. the fault of the seller is, by an extra-
They were convinced in their hearts, if ordinary tour de force, transferred to the
enust repeat the words of the Colonial shoulders of the possibly innocent huyer Secretary, that this Bill is not a good coming into the Colony in ignorance of measure, otherwise 1 cannot suppose these its peculiar law. It is a peculiar law.
directors would have spoken to me on the for it is proposed by Clause 5 of the Bilubject, as they would have been simply that a stranger within our gates. assuming casting their time. that the hotel boy mistakes him and we know that very often there are cases of two people being like one another-for a resident of the hotel and does not ask him for cash-then, Sir, not only is the seller liable but the buyer also is liable to get run in." If the seller commits an offence then the buyer has to be run in and will also be guilty of an offence.ehalf by Messrs. Deacon, Looker, Deacon In other words, if A commits a crine then B shall also be devrned to have com
Well Sir. mitted the same crime. understand that the Colonial Secretary does not now wish to raise any point con- cerned with an attempt to restrict the sale of liquors, and, therefore, it all boile down to that wonderful and very nice brown bag which he produced just now full, apparently, of rather musty-looking chits from which it would appear that on hotel has suffered considerable loss. The Colonial Secretary now bases his plea on the question of protecting the hotel-keeper. Well, Sir, I think that one can safely assume that that particular hotel is not one of the two leading hotels in the City of Victoria, for the reason that I am abl to read to the Council, and certainly shall do so, letters of protest from the two largest hotels in the City the Hong kong Hotel and the King Edward Hotel. These hotels certainly do not view this Bill as a boon; they regard it from a quite contrary point of view. I do not pretend
apposed to this Bill, and with roference to the reasons for the Bill. Sir, I certainly understood the Colonial Secretary to make some remarks on the question of pro- miscuous drinking. I do not see how his words could be interpreted in any other sense than that the Bill would tend to lessen drinking. But, now, Sir, I under- stand he wishes to disclaim that point. If that is so, we do not wish him to hold to anything which he wishes to disclaim. With regard to the question of the reasons of this Bill, I would point out that in the statement of Objects and Reasons,' where we should naturally look for those reasons, the reasons are conspicuously absent. I would also point out, Sir, that that is a very grave and serious omission, Unofficial members ought not to be obliged, to wait for the second reading of the Bill before the Government discloses its reasons for the measure It is not much good. Sir, publishing the Bill for some time previously in the Gazette merely stating the objects aimed at-because any com- petent lawyer can more or less set the objects aimed at and leaving out ali mention of the reasons aimed at Of course, for every Bill that exists it is desirable there should be good and sufficient reasons. I think every member of this Council will admit that," speaking
I
DÓW.
HON. Mo. POLLOCK - Well IT. with regard to the Hongkong Hotel, I will read their letter, or rather he letter which was written on their
Harston, their solicitors, on the 27th of ast month, with reference to this Bill
think it is necessary to read the letter ecause, with all due deference, I think be Colonial Secretary has given us rather travesty of their views. The letter is as ollows:--
Hongkong, 27th September, 1917. SIR,We have the honour to address you in regard to the above Bill on behalf of our clients, the Hongkong Hotel Co., Ltd.
8. Our clients are the holders of a Publican's Licence grauted by the Hong- kong Government and have continuously held such licence or its equivalent for the period of 50 years.
The fee payable in respect of such licence at the present time is $3,500 per annum.
3.--During the period of 30 years referred to in the preceding paragraph that portion of our cliente business
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which relates to the supply of intoxicat ing liquor has been very largely carried on by means of what is known as the chit system "whereunder the pur- chaser is supplied with the liquor desired by him in exchange for an order in writing signed by him.
4. Our clients' experience under the above system-save in a comparatively infinitesimal number of instances-has been such as to enable them to say that the system has worked well and has been a great convenience both to them- selves and their customers.
5.The intoxicating liquor supplied by our clients to such of their customers as, if the above Bill be passed, will fall within the purview of its restrictive clauses, is served in the following por- tions of their premises, viz. :-
(a.) The Public Bar. b.) The Private Bar. (c) The Smoking room Bar.
The Kiosk Lounge. (The Large Lounge.
6. Our clients have quite recently removed the Public Bar into a smaller room, thus reduring the area thereof by approximately 75 per cent. In addi- tion, our clients have also quite recently similarly reduced the
Breu of the Smoking-room Bar.
7. In our clients' opinion the Ordin- ance now proposed will not only directly inflict needless pecuniary loss upon them in regard to their "takings, but will also be the cause of their suffering unnecessary inconvenience and hard ship, for the reasons (inter alia) that it will be requisite for our clients to pro- vide additional members to their staff in order to "shroff" and "check" the money which will be received in lieu of "chits
as heretofore, and to ensure that no intoxicating liquor is supplied to any customer who is not residing at the Hotel "-in which respect It must be remembered that the Hotel is patronised not only by permanent residents but also by transient residents and casual visitors.
8. In addition to the inconvenience and hardship entailed upon our clients. as above, it is also the fact that the pro- visions of the Bill are such as to largely add to the possibility of our clients incurring je ipardy in respect of their hereinbefore mentioned licence.
9-Our clients respectfully submit that no sufficient reason exists to war. rant the passing of the proposed Ordin- ance, and in this relation our clients would observe that this view is sup- ported by the fact that under the
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