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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
which must be maintained, it is a real struggle for existence. The railway land near the Ferry Pier could be applied to better use and for the benefit of a larger number than the concessions presently enjoyed for a consideration which may or may not outweigh the larger benefits claimed for motorists.
The presence of disorderly houses on Nathan Road in the very heart of the residential district calls for attention. They were per- mitted at a time when family residences did not exist in such large numbers in Kowloon and at Yaumati. Young women of these houses sit on the window sills and obtrude themselves on the public gaze in a main thoroughfare every evening, and from midnight onwards the noise from what may be termed the "red-light" district of Yaumati deprives residents of the rest which they look for in undis- turbed sleep.
The hills of Kowloon have a very bare appearance especially that portion above the railway cutting and on the heights of Hunghoni. The expenditure of a couple of thousand dollars for a couple of years may alter the bareness of Kowloon hills and the effect of the landscape.
Kowloon residents are still cherishing the hope for the fulfilment of the promise of afternoon open-air band concerts. The Shanghai Municipal Council provides music of a high order for the benefit of the public throughout the year during afternoons and in the evenings. Hong Kong continues to live under the reproach of being behind the Model Settlement in this respect.
In the matter of school fees I wonder if Government can effect a revision so as to reduce the cost of fees which are a heavy drain on the residents of this Colony. A fortnight ago, the Honourable Colonial Secretary spoke of next year's Budget as one of "a forward policy in services rather than in material works." What more tangible proof can there be as a practical demonstration of the Government's earnestness than by beginning in a small way to reduce the cost of living to residents in Hong Kong? Reduction of school fees is some- thing to start with. After all, it is by contentment with the common lot that one gauges the success of any administration, and "content- ment" has been described by a great English essayist as the "Philo- sopher's Stone."
It is on the question of the Saikung Road that I am afraid I must sound the discordant note where the considered opinions of Unofficial members are concerned. There is no comparison between the districts, viz., those embraced within the Circular Road out to Saikung curving round to Shatin and those districts mentioned by the Senior Unofficial Member. On the first section of the projected Circular Road within not more than about twenty minutes drive when the road is completed by motor-car to the Ferry wharf will be found beautiful undulating land in some places and in another a plateau available for building sites that will outrival any in the Colony, the
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