13
65. As things are, the Government of the Colony may be said to control or administer the Harbour, as they own all the land and have granted the leases under which the piers for shipping have been constructed, and they have laid down moor- ing buoys for vessels, as well as providing navigation lights. Apart from this there has been very little control or administration, it having been left to private enter- prise to do all else that was necessary, and it must be admitted that private enter- prise has succeeded to a remarkable degree in meeting the needs of the situation.
66. So far as the Government is concerned, the Harbour is not treated as an entity in itself. As already mentioned it comes within the purview of various officials in so far as their respective general duties impinge upon it. The Director of Public Works, for example, deals with the Harbour among the public works of the Colony, the Land Department issues the pier leases as part of their duty to deal with other leases, while even the Harbour Master is concerned with duties other than those relating strictly to the ordinary duties of such an official.
67. The accounts of the Harbour are not kept separately, so that it is im- possible easily to compare the revenue derived from it with the expenditure on it, but it would appear that the revenue from light dues, buoy dues, rents of piers and ferry royalties exceeds any expenditure which should be charged against it.
68. It may be further noted that there does not seem to have been much in the nature of planning for the future development of the Port, although I am bound to mention that Mr. Andrew Nicol, A.M. Inst. C.E. the Engineer in charge of the Harbour Works, has displayed a deal of foresight in many plans which he has prepared for dealing with certain aspects of the physical side of the Port. There has, however, been no officially adopted plan of development, and it is practically impossible for the ordinary civil servant, having regard to his general duties, to do much in that direction.
69. As stated in paragraph 25, Hong Kong owes its trade and prosperity largely to its magnificent Harbour, so much so that it may be said that the Harbour is the Colony and the Colony is the Harbour. Jealous eyes have been cast at it, hence we hear from time to time of schemes for the establishment or improvement of other Ports, with the object of robbing Hong Kong of its trade.
70. All this makes it important that the Port of Hong Kong should be care- fully nurtured by keeping its facilities adequate, and, above all, the burden of its charges as light as possible. Here I may remark that I am struck by the lowness of the charges which the principal godown Companies are able to make, they being lower than those at any of the many Ports of which I have knowledge.
71. If things are to remain as they are, the Government presumably would have to renew the pier leases on their expiration, for such further periods as they thought fit and at appropriate rents, which could reasonably be higher than those at present in force, so giving security of tenure to the leaseholders and enabling them to develop as they saw fit in the future.
72. So far as the larger ocean-going vessels are concerned, there would not seem to be any fear that private enterprise would not meet the situation if the leases were renewed, but it has to be remembered that there are other services-coasting and river—that are not in such a satisfactory state as regards their accommodation. There are many piers that have been allowed to get into a bad condition, private enterprise not having dealt with them too kindly. Private enterprise may provide all that is necessary for a section of the trade, but fall short in other directions.
73. I think that the doctrine of "laissez faire" well describes what has been the attitude of the Government to the Harbour, and, taking everything into con- sideration, I am of opinion that, in the best interests of the community and of the Colony in its broadest sense as a source of supply of trade to the Empire at large, it is not desirable to allow matters to remain as they are.
74. The course (b) mentioned in paragraph 63, therefore, requires considera- tion, that is, whether some improved method of Government control could be de- vised. One way would be to form a special Government department for the pur-
Page 200Page 201
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.