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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Amendment of the Crown Lands
Resumption Ordinance, 1900
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill intituled, An Ordinance to amend the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance 1900.
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The Objects and Reasons attached to the Bill state:
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL said-There are three main provisions in this Bill. In the first place it proposes to abolish the customary ten per cent. allowancs for compulsory acquisition. That ten per cent. has been abolished in certain particular cases, in England, by parti- cular statutes, and recently, two years ago, a general statute was passed dealing with the acquisition of land compul-
1. This Bill contains the three follow sorily, and that provision is ing main provisions:-
(a) The customary 10 per cent. allow
ance for compulsory acquisition is to be abolished. (b)--The compensation is to be based on the amount which the property would fetch in the open market if sold by a willing seller. (c)--No compensation is to be given in respect of any use of the land which is not in accordance with the terms of the crown lease under which the land is held.
2.-- Paragraphs (2) and (b) of Clause 2 are adopted from the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act. 1919, 9 and 10 Geo. 5. c. 57, s. 2 (1) and (2).
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made general in all cases. In future the Board of Arbitrators will have to assess the value of the land without allowing any amount for compulsory pur- chase. That provision is reinforced and made clear by the second main provision of the Bill which is to the effect that the compensation the
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resumption of Crown lands is to be based
on the amount which the property would fetch in the open market if "sold by a willing seller. That is intended to get rid of any argument with regard to sentimental in any resumption under the proposed value. The third main provision is that, Ordinance, no compensation is
to be given in respect of any use of the land which
is not in accordance with the terms of the Crown lease under which the land is held. That affects two main classes of cases; one is the case where land is held on a particular: title say, an agricultural lease which only entitles the holder to use the land for farming pur- poses. In some cases such land is allow. ed by the Government to be used tem- porarily for other purposes. The owner may get a permit to put up and main- tain some kind of factory there, for
3. Paragraph (c) of Clause 2 is in tended to prevent claims being made on public moneys in respect of uses of the land which are not in accordance with the terms of the Crown lease. Such claims are sometimes made, and they are generally supported by the production of permits to use the land in that parti- cular way. Though such permits are in- tended to be only temporary they are often renewed from year to year for long periods, and the argument is that thexample. It is a temporary permit, and Crown must be taken to have waived the
breach of the Crown lease. It has also been argued that the expectation of the continued renewal of such permits must be taken into account in fixing the com- pensation,
4. Clause 3 of the Bill is intended to save existing arbitrations from coming under the stricter provisions of clause 9 of the Bill.
is liable to revocation on short notice. If the owner chooses to spend a large sum of money on the erection and main- tenance of the factory he can hardly complain if, when the land is required for public purposes, he is reminded that his title is merely an agricultural one and that the permit was only temporary. It is his own risk if he spends money; in some cases he may be prepared to take the risk, but if he does, he can only be compensated on the basis of what he is entitled to, and that is agricultural
leases. These vary considerably. In some cases, they seem to give almost indefinite rights, but where the rights are restricted it is intended that where the Government have to resume in the public
5.-Clauses 4 and 5 are intended to get over a difficulty which sometimes occurs in the New Territories when land. The other class of case is farm owners, or co-owners, are absent from the Colony or cannot be found.
6-Clause 8 is a minor amendment which is consequential on paragraph (c) of Clause 2.
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
their absence.
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4.-Clause 3 provides for the enforce ment by a magistrate of maintenance orders made in England or Ireland.
interest they shall have to pay only the the Colony, are provisional only, and value of the land as farm land. If, for do not take effect until confirmed by a example, the farm lease allows the magistrate in the Colony: and, by the owner only to put up farm buildings and provisions of 10 and 11 George 5, c. 33, he choses to cover the land with a factory, the same applies cice versa to orders or a row of domestic buildings, then, made in the Colony against persons in if the Government should require to resume the land, he is to be paid only the value of the land as farm land. He has to abide by the risk he has taken. These are the two chief classes which the third main principle of the Bill will affect. The Government has taken the opportu- nity to provide for particular cases, which occur occasionally, when notices cannot be served owing to the absence of owners, and a clause has been inserted to provide that the provisions of this Bill shall not apply to any pending cases.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a first time.
Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Ordinance
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill intituled, An Ordinance to facilitate the enforcement in the Colony of Maintenance Orders made in England or Ireland and rice versa, and to declare the application of the Married Women (Desertion) Ordinance, 1905, and to amend the said Ordinance.
OBJECTS AND REASONS
5.-Clause 4 empowers the Governor to transmit to the Secretary of State for the Colonies for enforcement in England or Ireland maintenance orders made in the Colony.
6. Clause 5 empowers a magistrate in the Colony to make provisional orders of maintenance against persons resident in England or Ireland.
7.--Clause 6 empowers a magistrate in the Colony to confirm provisional orders of maintenance made in England or Ire- land against persons resident in the Colony.
8.--By Clause 11 the provisions of the Magistrates Ordinance, 1890, are applied to proceedings under the Bill.
9. Clause 12 refers to the Married. Women (Desertion) Ordinance, 1905. From the definition of "Married Women" in this Ordinance, and from the fact that no payment may be ordered under the Ordinance which exceeds 20 dollars weekly, it might be argued that the Ordi- nance was intended to apply only to per sons of Chinese or Asiatic race. The present Bill is intended to cover all cases of maintenance orders, irrespective of
The object of this Bill, which originat- ed from a resolution passed by the Im- perial Conference in 1911, is to facilitate the enforcement in the Colony of main-nationality, and it is therefore advisable tenance orders made in England or Ireland and vice verså,
2.-It has been introduced on instruc- tions from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and reproduces the provisions of 10 and 11 George 5, chapter 33.
3. By the provisions of the Bill, orders made against persons in England or Ire. land, after notice to such persons, will be enforceable in the Colony, (provided such orders are registered here) in the same way as if they had originally been made in the Colony; and, by the provi- sions of 10 and 11 George 5, c. 33, the same applies vice verso to orders made against persons in the Colony, after notice to such persons. But order made against persons in England or Ireland
in their absence, such persons being in
to remove all doubts as to the construc- tion of the only local Ordinance under which such orders may be made.
ment of more
10. Clause 13 amends sections 4 and 6 of the Married Women (Desertion) Ordinance, 1905, by removing the provi- sion that no order may be made for pay- The retention of this figure is now out than 20 dollars weekly.
the increased cost of living and the con- of place in view of fluctuating exchange, nection with the United Kingdom system.
11. The other provisions in the Bill are either supplementary or consequen- tial, and call for no comment.
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL said— This Bill is introduced in accordance with in- structions of the Secretary of State and
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.