CO129-525-3 Estimates 1931 and other financial papers 16-1-1930 - 1-9-1932 — Page 279

124

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

HON. MR. R. H. KOTEWALL.-My Chinese colleagues and I desire first of all to thank the Government for having, at my request, prepared at much expenditure of time, and laid on the table, Sessional Paper No. 4 of 1932 giving the unvarnished facts which have enabled us to gain a proper conception of the difficult problem now under consideration.

We cannot, however, say that the Hon. Colonial Secretary's speech made at the last meeting of this Council is equally free The main from controversial statements, as I will presently show. burden of that speech is that the rider-main system is wasteful. So emphatic was he on this point that he said: "There can be no hesitation in stating definitely that there is very serious waste through the rider-mains, so much so indeed that experience has shown that restriction to anything more than 2 or perhaps 4 hours per day does not result in the conservation of water that is called for in times of scarcity. Eight hours supply or more in a day means as much use of water as a 24 hours supply."

We do not deny that immediately following upon the issue of a notice by the Government that a restriction would be imposed, the consumption of water through the rider-mains did go up somewhat, for people, as was natural, resorted to a certain amount of hoarding during the first day or two; but the consumption generally went down after the first week of restriction. The remark that 8 hours supply in a day means as much use of water as a 24 hours supply is no proof that the rider-main system itself is wasteful. It merely indicates that the people draw as much water in 8 hours as they do in 24 in order to meet their wants: it does not prove that there is waste.

The rider-main system was approved in 1903 after very careful consideration by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, by the local Government and by the Legislative Council, as Hansard of that year shows.

On the occasion of the first reading of the Bill to provide for the institution of the system, the then Colonial Secretary, the Hon. Mr. F. H. (afterwards Sir Henry) May, made these important observations: "The rider-main system can be equally well adapted to the prevention of waste, and it is for that purpose that it is It is now sought to be introduced-for the prevention of waste. simply, if I may so describe it in a few short words, a system of huge meters for blocks of buildings instead of separate meters for separate houses. The principle of the Bill was carefully considered by both Mr. Chadwick and Professor Simpson. It has been adopted and endorsed by both these experts . . . I repeat again the object of the Bill, the object we all have before us, is the prevention of waste. The experts, especially Mr. Chadwick, are of opinion that the waste could be stopped by this system, the Government are strongly of that opinion, and our local advisers here are also of the same opinion."

330