CO129-594-8 A G H Sment- report on medical activities and problems 16-12-1945 - 18-2-1946 — Page 64

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5. URBAN AND RURAL SERVICES.

It is impossible to discuss any one aspect of Medical affairs in the Colony without touching on other relevant aspects. One of the main issues is the control of the Victoria urban area. The position hitherto is. described in the Wellington Review. The question now is to decide whether any modification of the pre-war system is desirable or expedient. The existing plan leaves the Urban Council largely an advisory body but there has been,. for a long time, pressure for a more autonomous control of the urban area. In many instances such autonomy, subject to general reference to overnment on matters of policy and finance, would be justified. But Hong Kong is in a special and peculiar position of responsibility to both its indigenous and transient population,and, internationally, by reason of its geographical position. With Macao it is virtually the gateway to South China, with its vast population. No other territory I can recall has quite the same position of responsibility either in character or dimension. The sanitary control of Victoria cannot be divorced from the sanitary control of the Colony as a whole and, therefore, from control on an international basis. It may be politically expedient to give the Urban Authorities a wider measure of self- government but, whatever decision is arrived at, there should be no departure from the principle that, in essential matters of health control, Government must retain complete executive control, as it does ultimate responsibility.

I have referred to the question of housing in Victoria in other sections and put forward various recommendations. The position as a whole is summed up in the Report of the Hong Kong Housing Commission, published in 1935. The Committee confined itself mainly to a recommendation that "a permanent Town Planning and Housing Committee be formed to advise Government on town planning and housing matters." A comprehensive review of the position by yr. W. H. Owen is included as an appendix; this gives a good background to the problem and should be read in connection with this report, together with related matter in the Wellington Review.

Overcrowding already exists in Victoria; its solution must depend on a number of factors. First of all, the Authorities must have a reasonably accurate preview of their liability in regard to population, secondly there must be sites on which to build and expand, and thirdly, there has to be some authority to sponsor and finance the acquiring of sites and the building of suitable houses. The preview in respect of population can only be obtained if some system of registration of persons residing in Victoria is devised and some assessment in advance can be made as to fresh arrivals. The availability of sites is restricted and any real increase in this must depend ultimately on the policy of the overnment as to the distribution of industry and the allocation of grown Land.

A policy as to the retention on the Island of

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