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near their school premises. We understand from Mr. J. L. McPherson the Secretary of the Chinese Y.M.C.A. that if further ground were made available this movement might be extended for the benefit of other school boys and street boys. Mr. McPherson point- ed out however that some central organization would be necessary to collect funds for the provision of equipment, to organize and supervise the games and to see that all children had a fair share in the use of the grounds. He suggested that an Association might be formed for this purpose to be called the Small Playing Grounds Association" to which any available grounds could he allotted by the Recreation Grounds Committee. This Association could employ a Supervisor of Play assisted by volunteer help which we have reason to think would be forthcoming We are indebted to Mr. McPherson for the memorandum on this subject which forms Appendix IX to this report. We feel that Mr. McPherson's proposal deserves every encouragement, both from Government and from the Public, as it is only by the organization of games that full use can be made of public play- grounds provided at public expense for the poorer children of the community. We have learned with much interest of the success which has attended the organization of games on public playgrounds elsewhere and we consider that the idea is capable of very useful development in Hong Kong. We annex to this report as Appendix X a memorandum on the organization of games in Colombo kindly furnished by the Chairman of the Colombo Municipality. This memorandum well illustrates the development of which this idea is capable.
Conclusion.
44. Before closing our report we desire to express our indebtedness to the Hon- ourable the Director of Public Works who provided for us, often at very short notice, plans of the many areas which we had under review from time to time. The large size of the Committee, the great number of areas visited and reviewed, the mass of detail involved and the length of the proceedings at most of the meetings threw very heavy work on the Secretary which he discharged with unfailing courtesy and promptness. We desire to place on record our high appreciation of his valuable services which have gone far to lighten the burden which fell on the Committee. We also desire to record our appreciation of the services of our stenographer, Miss Ferguson.
T. Megarry,
Secretary,
20th, January 1980.
We have the honour to be.
Sir,
Your Excellency's most obedient servants,
W. T. SOUTHORN, (Chairman)
HAROLD T. CREASY.
W. E. L. SIENTON.
*J. P. BRAGA.
S. W. TS'O.
E. RALPHS.
†F. H. D. BYRON.
†C. A. de LINDE.
RICHARD HANCOCK.
E. COCK.
*M. K. LO.
A. el ARCULLI.
Hong Kong
January 1930.
H. E. SIR CECIL CLEMENTI, K.C.M.G
Governor &c.. HONG KONG.
*These members have signed subject to their reservation annexed. These members have signed subject to their reservation annexed.
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Reservation by Hon. Mr. J. P. Braga and Mr. M. K. Lo,
1. We regret the necessity for this reservation but we are unable to sign the Report without it on account of its recommendations relating to Caroline Hill as contained in paragraph 11 (a) and paragraph 12 of that Report, with which we are in disagreement.
2. We do not agree to the sale of the Caroline Hill area, at present and for some time past allocated and extensively used as a playing field, as "a means of financing the more expeditious completion" by the Government of the scheme for reclaiming and laying out Aberdeen Inlet for recreation grounds.
3. Our reasons for disagreement are as follows:—
(a) The carving out of Caroline Hill for building purposes would spoil the amenities of the Sookunpoo Valley now almost exclusively devoted to the purpose of playing fields the benefits of which are enjoyed by men of the Services as well as by civilians of all nationalities. The conspicuously successful Grand Tattoo, held for a period of three consecutive days in October 1928, when thousands of residents of, and visitors to, the L'olony, enjoyed a magnificent spectacle staged in an ideal and unique setting sufficiently demonstrates the value of Sookumpoo Valley being retained and maintained for its present purposes without the incumbrance of buildings for residential purposes, for which more suitable sites might be found elsewhere on the Island, and preferably, at Kowloon.
(b) The value and the cost of the land should not, in our opinion, constitute a deciding factor in the consideration of the question as to whether or not it should be retained as a recreation ground. Indeed, if that were 2 decisive factor in such a question, it would be difficult to justify the retention of playing fields occupying immensely more valuable areas within the City limits, eg, the Hong Kong Cricket Club ground, which, we understand, is worth about five and a half million dollars. The same might be said of the extensive area within King's Park at Kowloon which. for its entire acreage, has a value far in excess of that which may be assessed for Caroline Hill, And yet the permanent reservation of King's Park for playing fields and as an open area-a very wise measure indeed— has been secured by legislation.
(c) The recommendation that Caroline Hill should be sacrificed in favour of the Aberdeen Valley scheme on the ground that the latter provides nine times the area which the former does is, to our mind, unsound, because of the vital question of accessibility. The distance of Aberdeen Valley and its difficulty of access, in point of time and expense, as compared with Caro- line Hill which thousands can reach from their offices, and the Naval men from the ships in the harbour and the soldiers from their barracks and their social headquarters within city limits by easy methods of mass trans- portation, such as the existing tram and bus services, militates against whatever other advantages that may reasonably be claimed for the Aberdeen Inlet Scheme. To the majority of frequenters of Sookunpoo Valley for purposes of sport the cost of a journey to and from Aberdeen (which is a real consideration because of the smallness of their wages) would be prohibitive, not to speak of the time lost in a winter evening when darkness sets in at a much earlier hour of the day. The popularity of Aberdeen Valley for the purposes of sport remains to be proved: the usefulness of Sookunpoo for the like purpose is established, and its attrac- tions can never be lost because no other large-sized flat land is any longer available on the Island and so favourably situated as Caroline Till for purposes of sport.
(d) The very terms of our reference demand of us that we should "review the provision at present existing for playing fields in Hong Kong and on the Mainland" we therefore regard it as our duty to consider the adequac or otherwise of playing fields in the city. This, of course, is an entir non-racial question: but the fact that a rapidly growing number of C ese, who constitute such a large proportion of the population of
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