Police protection.
Sale-plans to show: (1) dimensions oflots.
(2) Street levels.
Making best
use of
available
land.
Penalizing
idle land Auitable for building.
Adding floors to godowns. and convert- ing godowns into tene.
menta,
Guild offices and private clubs to be removed
from central
situations.
Inadequary
of P.W.D.
staff.
Building
Offize stail
10
built is small in the first instance. We recommend that this suggestion be carried out. Amongst the et ceteras required are electric light and water. Adequate Police protection is another obvious need.
* 52. We also recommend--
(1) That, if possible, dimensions of lots to be sold by the Government should be shown on the sale-plans, (see letters (8), (35) and (54) in Enclosure 1); and
That levels of adjoining streets should be shown on sale-plans as
soon after the Crown land is sold as possible.
Sub-Head (4)-Utilization to Best Advantage of Land Already Available. 53. The recommendations under this sub-head are designed to utilize to the best advantage existing available land, whether vacant or built upon.
* 54. We recommend-
(1) That the Government, by amendment of the Rating Ordinance, place a heavy tax on privately-owned land, not utilized in connection with any building, which is obviously suitable for building on but which is not being built upon or offered for building on.
(2) That encouragement be given by the Government, by loans at 5%, to owners of one-storey or two-storey godowns on adjoining lots on Praya East and Praya West to co-operate in increasing the area of land available for building tenements, by heightening the godowns on one lot to three or four storeys, thus economising godown space, and by using the adjacent lot for building a Chinese tenement-house. In other instances low godowns might be rebuilt, with such Government assistance as aforesaid, and living accommodation might be erected on the top of the godowns (see letter (16) para. 3 1) in Enclosure 1, and Mr. White's evi- dence at page 10 in Enclosure 8 (3)).
(3) That the Government should take steps to secure the removal of guild offices and the numerous small private clubs, which are only frequented at night, from the crowded parts of the City to the outskirts, as soon as sufficient new houses are built in the latter districts to accommodate them (see letter (27) in Enclosure 1). Que reason in favour of such action is that, in time of disorder caused by labourers, a more effective control over the guilds and their activities can be exercised by the Government.
Sub-Head (5)-Provision of Adequate Staff for the Public Works Department.
55. After careful enquiries we are satisfied that the staff of the Survey Office and Buildings Office of the Public Works Department is totally inade- quate to cope with the heavy work it has to perform.
56. From the statement furnished by the late Mr. White, (attached to Enclosure 8 (3) it will be seen that the number of plans dealt with in the Building Office rose from an average of just over 5 a day in 1912 to 10 a day in 1922-3; and, as regards staff his evidence shows →
(1) that his Office has been carrying on with only 3 Overseers (one of whom was seconded from his proper post of Clerk of Works) instead of its proper complement of 7 Overseers (see page 6 of his evidence);
(2) that his Office required 2 Clerks of Works (ibid); and (3) that another Assistant Engineer was also required.
11
staff.
57. An equally unsatisfactory state of affairs is revealed by the Survey Office evidence of, and the comparative statement sent in by, Mr. Parker Rees, which shows that he has now only 10 surveyors working under him as against 14 in 1911, although since that year the work of his Office has practically quadrupled (see statement attached to Enclosure 8 (4)). Mr. Rees handed in a statement dated 25th June, 1923 (attached to Enclosure 8(4)) showing what he considered to be the proper number and arrangement of his Staff. He states (pp. 17 and 18 of Enclosure 8 (4)) that he has now only 6 European Surveyors (of whom 2 are on leave); that he requires 5 more Surveyors to enable him to get things up to late; that he gets a dozen or two applications a day for a surveyor to set up the frontage line of a house which has been pulled down; that, at the time of giving his evidence, he had 100 lease-plans in Kowloon waiting to be dealt with for people who had complied with their building covenants; and that he and his staff were doing them as quickly as they could. He further states that he requires double the present number of 2 bailiffs, needing 2 in Hongkong and 2 in Kowloon, instead of one in each place (p. 19); that the survey work is double what it was in 1921 (p. 20); and that Chinese Surveyors take 3 years to train, and many of them have been transferred to other Offices in the Public Works Department (see document F attached to Enclosure 8 (4) ).
58. We are of opinion that the delays which occur in dealing with applications for Crown land and with building-plans are to a large extent due to the inadequacy of the staffs of the above two Offices, and we think that it is false economy to understaff two such important Offices which are so intimately connected with the building development of the Colony.
59. We understand from a Minute sent by the Assistant Colonial Secretary to the Chairman that in regard to the Buildings Office-
(i) 2 Assistant Engineers are being asked for from England, (one of
them to replace the late Mr. White).
(i) 3 extra Overseers are being recruited,
* While (4) seems sufficient, (ii) does not appear to us to be, and we there- fore suggest the engagement of two additional Overseers (see para. 56
supra.) in addition to the said 3 extra Overseers. (In letter (9) in Enclosure 1 Mr. R. Baker shows the importance of proper supervision of work from the point of view of both the contractor and the employer),
* We also recommend the engagement of an additional Clerk of Works (ante, para. 56).
We have not been informed as to what additions, if any, are to be made to the Survey Office Staff, and we understand that the matter is now under the consideration of the Government.
Delays due to staff shortage.
Proposed additions to Building Office Staff.
Survey Office Staff
assistance
MYatel,
* 60. In the meantime, to meet the present urgent demand of the public Temporary for the speedier marking out of building sites and the quicker passing of plane, we suggest that the Government should, forthwith, endeavour to engage the services for a period of 12 months, of a temporary Engineering and Survey staff from the local Naval and Military Forces.
Stenc-
for Building
D.P.W.
* 61. We also recommend that a person combining the qualifications of stenographer and typist be engaged for the Buildings Office as, in the opinion of Mr. White, the services of such a person would materially lighten the daily Office and work of the Officer in charge of that Office, effecting an economy of 1 hours a day. We also recommend that a similarly qualified person be engaged for work in the office of the Director of Public Works as the Chairman understood from the Hon. Mr. Jackman that such an engagement would save much time.
* 62. Mr. Parker Rees, in his evidence, stated that many of his surveyors have from time to time been transferred to the engiucering branch of the Public Works Department, to the detriment of the efficient working of the
Tmuster of surveyors,
364
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