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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
only be developed by motor roads. It is not to the point to say that houses have not yet been built along the Shek O Road or on the hills above Chai Wai. This is a question of providing hill residences for the dwellers in Kowloon, not on the island, and I think it is most important that some opportunity should now be afforded those, who wish to live on the hilltops above the northern side of the harbour, to do so. They cannot do so along the Taipo Road, at least until they reach the hills at Ma-niu-shui. When they get as far as that, then they are too distant from Kowloon to come in to their daily work by motor car. From the hills immediately above Kowloon between Customs Pass and Lyemun they can drop down to Kowloon certainly in twenty minutes.
I may say that it rather prejudices the question to refer to the four miles of road, provided for in these estimates, as the Saikung Road. The first section goes from Kowloon City, not to Saikung, but to Ma- yau-tong. That is the section of the road I think we ought not to postpone any longer. I consider the time has now come when we ought to do more than we are doing for the development of the hill districts of Kowloon. I visualise the time, perhaps in ten years. when the population of Kowloon will be larger than that of the island. Kowloon has grown in a most phenomenal way. I gave you some figures in my address to you on the waterworks. So far as I can recall, 19,000 persons were resident in Kowloon Peninsula at the time when we took over the New Territories 30 years ago, and now there are something like 300,000. These are the reasons which prompted the Government to decide that this work should be carried out, and I hope the unofficial members of the Council will reconsider their objections. As I have said, it is not a question of building a road to Saikung or anywhere near it at the present time, but of building a road to Ma-yau-tong.
The unofficial members again conferred, following which,
HON. SIR HENRY POLLOCK said.-We are all against the com- mencement of the construction of this road.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR.-Then I am afraid we shall have to divide on the motion.
On a division, the votes were recorded as follows:-
For:-Hon. Sir Henry Pollock, Hon. Sir Shou-son Chow, Hon. Mr. R. H. Kotewall, Hon. Mr. A. C. Hynes, Hon. Mr. W. E. L. Shenton, Hon. Mr. S. W. Ts'o, Hon. Mr. B. D. F. Beith.
Against: Hon. Mr. J. P. Braga, the General Officer Com- manding the Troops, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the Colonial Treasurer, the Director of Public Works, the Captain Superintendent of Police, the Harbour Master, the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services.
The motion was, therefore, lost by ten votes to seven.
On the item $25,433 for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve,
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