CO129-450 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [10-12] — Page 371

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Conclosure 6.

Enclosure 7

373

houses at a low rate of interest, the money being repayable

by instalments over a series of years. The advantage of such

a scheme from the point of view of public health would be

that the Government could insist on the type of house to ba

built, could limit the number of inmates and could regulate

the rents to be charged for each house or part of a house. I

brought this proposal before the members of the Legislative

Council in a memorandum of which I enclose a copy and I have

since received a letter from Mr. Holyoak, the Senior Un-

-official Member in the Colony, of which I also enclose a copy. I am not disposed to recommend the loan of public funds

for the purpose of building houses for European occupation,

or for well-to-do Chinese. The overcrowding which is a menace

to the public health occurs among the small shop-keeping,

industrial, and labouring population md it is for that

portion of the community only that I advocate Government

assistance. For do I agree with the Unofficial Members that

there would be any advantage in reclaiming the area between Mongkoktsui and Taikok tsui in preference to the reclamation beyond Shamshuipo. Both reclamations can proceed together

and will form one continuous stretch of land. The reclama-

-tion recommended on the North side of Aplichau Island is a

comparatively small matter, that can be dealt with separate-

-ly.

12.

The new ferry service between Shamshuipo

and Victoria is to be inaugurated on the 1st. of January

next and will provide rapid and cheap means of transit. There

will also exist, I hope, before very long a good service of

tram cars throughout the Kowloon peninsula, and it will there-

-fore be possible for considerable numbers of persons living between Shanshuipo and Laichikok to go to and from their business in Victoria and Kowloon at a small cost. My main

object,