CO129-444 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1917 [10-12] — Page 150

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powers in general terms, partly because it may be necessary here- after to extend the control to other classes of boarding houses, and partly in order to avoid creating the erroneous impression that there was any racial consideration underlying the legislation.

It so happens that the boarding houses which are being dealt with under the Ordinance are all Chinese, but they are being so dealt with not because they are Chinese but because the non-Chinese board-

ing houses do not require any further control at present.

5.

The reference to domestic service in the definition in section

2 is intended to exclude such cases as the renting of houses and

flats.

6.

Section 7 makes the licensee liable for the acts of his ser-

vants, partners and other agents, but this liability is confined

to forfeitures and pecuniary penalties. Sub-section (2) of this

section throws on the licensee the onus of proving that persons who

appear to be servants are not in fact servants of the licensee,

7. The saving section refers to the Kerchant Shipping Ordinance,

1889, because of section 6 in that Ordinance which deals with the

question of boarding houses for seamen who are not Chinese, It

refers to the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance, 1903, because

common lodging houses are registered and controlled under that

Ordinance for sanitary purposes. It refers to the Liquors Conso-

lidation Ordinance, possibly unnecessarily, because many boarding

houses are licensed under that Ordinance for the purpose of control

of the trade in intoxicating liquor. It refers to the Travellers

Restriction Ordinance, 1915, because of the obligations imposed on

the keepers of boarding houses by section 14 of that Ordinance.

It refers to the Asiatic Emigration Ordinance, 1915, because that

Ordinance deals with the control of boarding houses for assisted

emigrants.

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