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HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
large area round the lower part of the ance, 1922, which allows the ejectment of Peak Road. It was essential, of course, tenants in cases which the landlord in- that all the owners of houses in that tends to rebuild domestic tenements so as " district should agree that their houses to make them now buildings within the should only be let or sold to Europeans. meaning of the Public Health and Build- Many conferences took place and most of ings Ordinance 1923 and it has been sub- the owners accepted the proposal. Some sequently ascertained that possession has stood out saying No, we want a free not been obtained in accordance with the market for our houses. We want to know provisions of the Ordinance. certainly that we shall be able to sell when we leave the Colony and are ready to 50 home after ten or fifteen years and we may be unable to find a buyer under this reservation scheme." The other owners took the attitude that they could not come in
unless everybody agreed. Not long ago
a sale in this area has put the final nail in the coffin of the scheme.
in Section 20 has been insufficient to In these cases the deterrent contained
prevent the evil while the tenants have lost all protection granted by the Ordin.
ance.
Your Petitioners further desire to call the attention of the Several Members of the Legislative Council to the case of the persons now housed in 26 domestic Quite recently a number of persons have approached me on this subject of tenements situated 13 in Upper Rutter a European reservation, but there has Street and 13 in Lower Rutter Street. always been the objection that while they These houses are about to be pulled down are willing to rent they are not prepared by the landlords and approximately to build. for the reason that when leav-12,000 persons will be dispossessed mostly ing the Colony they will not find an open feared that these persons who discharge employed as Conservancy coolies. It is market. In conversation with a well- known resident recently I reminded him
a necessary service will not be able to find other suitable accommodation and of the story of Abraham when the Angel announced to him the intended destruc-wil be unable to continue their work tion of Sodom. Abraham pleaded for the city, saying-Peradventure ten shall be found there," and the Angel answered "I will not destroy the City for ten's sake". And I said: Find me ten-or --I will reduce it-find me five who will build houses in this reservation. and I Am sure the the Government will meet them more than half way." He went Out and has not returned.
Now, there is no racial question in all this We are prepared to make a similar proposition to any community which may wish to live separately among its own kith and kin. We have, in fact, recently leased without auction to Chinese an area on which they propose to build fifty houses for the permanent residence of members of the Chinese community.
I now come to the case presented to us by the Chinese. I will read the Petition from the Hongkong Tenants Protective Society, which has 4,000 subscribing mem- bers representing, approximately, 40,000 members of families. The petitioners
BAY:-
A great number of cases have oc curred in which tenants have been' forced to vacate possession of their tenancies under Section 4 (1)F of the Rents Ordin-
satisfactorily.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray that the several members of the Legislative Council, will be pleased :—
(1) To consider an amendment to the Rents Ordinance 1922 with a view to making provision for the protection of tenants wrongfully dispossessed. by adding to Section 20 of the Rents Ordinance, the words.
"And the Magistrate may order the lessor to allow the lessee posses- sion of such domestic tenement.'
(2) To consider measures for the relief of persons employed in necessary duties.
arrangements
to
I may say that I have been over all these properties which are to be 'demolished. The case of the Conservancy coolies is heing dealt with by the Government who
making zro house them in temporary quarters on a large piece of ground immediately adjoining. Among other cases quoted is that of McGregor Street. That is the first which came immediately to the notice of the Government. 900 persons are being dispossessed by re-construction of these very old and undesirable tenements.
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
were
The Government considered the case and was satisfied that reconstruction was
Efforts Recessary and desirable. made to transport the tenants to Sham Shui Po, and the question of housing them in matsheds was also considered-but they disappeared. I can state from personal investigation that the Rutter Street property which is to be demolished is a most undesirable property, and the Building Ordinance Officer who ac companied me said that he would be thank- ful to see it come down.
This Colony has a somewhat startling capacity for absorbing Chinese, as has been exemplified time and again in periods of unrest at Canton. Now this certainly results in most undesirable overcrowding, but for the purposes of the present argument I merely state the fact that homeless people do find accommodation somehow. I have a list of a considerable number of empty
NOW
tenements with which I will not trouble Honourable Members, but they may be interested in the figures relating
29 new
to tenements under construction. Between the 1st of January and the 31st of May, 51 European and 321 Chinese houses were certified for occupation.
The European houses consisted of 162 and the Chinese of 997 storeys. Between now and four months" time there will be European houses; 374 European flats; and
Chinese 472
housea containing 1,594 storeys. And there is also the new hotel of some 90 rooms in Kowloon. As against that, the number of houses which have been or are to be demolished is 417. Therefore, it will be seen that there is new building considerably in excess of what is disappearing. It takes only some six months to pull down and reconstruct these Chinese tenements, so the hardship does not last for a very long period. The question is to be looked at from a wider point of view than that of the individual tenant. In the year 1894, the great plague year, we paid the penalty of our evil rat-infested slums, and Sir William Robinson wrote:
"The remedy, as your Lordship will see, is a very drastic one. It may result in the destruction and rebuilding of one-tenth part of Hongkong. It will necessitate the extension in every direction of houses fitted for Chinese occupation on improved sanitary principles." Since that day we have had the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance which, with all its imperfec- tions, is 2
great advance
those days, and the condition of the town
on
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is much more satisfactory, But we still have most undesirable slums. I have been over all those that have been named in this connection and I am speaking from experience, when I say that Honour- able Members would. if they saw them, be struck with amazement, that the Colony is not swept from end to end every year by disease. In 1918 we had the Cerebro- Spinal Meningitis epidemic, and after the Olitsky report the Goverment had in contemplation the demolition and recon- struction of large areas in the heart of the Chinese quarters, but considered it more expedient to concentrate on the opening out and development of suburbs and the improvement of communications with the intention, when sufficient accom- modation should be available, to enforce the law against overcrowding in order to put a stop to congestion in the City. Now, suddenly, we have our opportunity. The unrest in China has poured a flood of Chinese capital into this place and a large part of it is being used by private enterprise, on its own initiative, to do this very work which should have been done long ago. Year in and year out we have had preached to us the absolute necessity of removing this slum property. Now not only are others doing it for us but we are seizing the opportunity of widening streets, getting more open spaces, and
other effecting
which improvements are long overdue. Of course, the land- lords are not doing this from philan- throphic motives, but I think it is not true to make a general assertion that their guiding incentive is the evasion of the Rents Ordinance. There was one dis- tinct case in February last, which unfor- tunately I did not hear of at the time, in which the landlord had rebuilt, solely for the purpose of evading the Ordinance. There was one other case. mentioned by the Senior Unofficial Member, No. 23, Amoy Street, in which, apparently the same object was in view. I sent for the architect and I think that nothing more will be heard of the matter. These are the only cases. Well, gentlemen, one swallow does not make a summer one doubtful act on the part of a land- lord is not necessarily a reason for legis- lating generally against all landowners In all other cases the building officer assures me that he is satisfied that there will be more legitimate accommodation in almost every case and an improved type of building in every case. I will quote his
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