CO129-604-5 Immigration- control over entry from China 4-3-1948 - 6-1-1949 — Page 69

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My colleagues and I would be grateful if Government would give us an assurance that it is not proposed to raise revenue by this Bill, and that if the income from fees should exceed by an appreciable amount the cost of administration, then a reduction in fees would be considered. It would, however, be a popular gesture, if Government were prepared now, with the experience already derived from the working of the Immigration Department, to agree to a reduction of the fees.

The demands which have been made for certificates in anticipation of the passing of this Bill appear to be beyond the ability of the existing organisation to deal with them. While it is not suggested that a large personnel be immediately acquired, as the present demands may prove only temporary and dwindle after the first rush is over, it is hoped that increased facilities for supplying forms will be provided.

Finally I venture to echo what the Hon. Mr M. K. Lo has said concerning administration and trust that in carrying out the law, red tape and bureaucracy will be guarded against, not forgetting that Hong Kong lives as an entrepot for shipping and shipping includes passengers as well as cargo. (Applause.)

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. The Government is, I am sure, very grateful to the Hon. Members for their helpful speeches and for the trouble

they have taken in assisting the Government advisers in removing or smoothing over any asperities the earlier draft of the Bill may have contained, and I personally am very grateful for the help I have received from the Hon. Senior Chinese Unofficial Member.

The Hon. Senior Chinese Unofficial Member, Mr. Lo, has referred to Clause 7 of the Bill and asked for an assurance in respect of that. I read that clause exactly as he does and, speaking for myself, I can give him that assurance. I can go further than that. The immigration Officer, Mr. R. A. D. Forrest, also reads it as he does and it is his intention to give every facility to those persons in possession of proper papers to land without any further difficulty. The Department is to be administered as desired by other speakers in the interests of passengers and all shipping generally and not to cause any obstruc- tion or inconvenience that can be possibly avoided.

One other request is made by Mr. Lo and other Unofficial Members and that is that the fees should be reduced. The fees are reduceable or increasable at any time by Your Excellency in Executive Council under Clause 20 of the Bill. The fees stated in the Schedule were those that it was considered desirable to have as a start-off; but further consideration has been given to the matter and I am authorised by Your Excellency to state that the fee for a certificate of four years' residence valid for five years will be reduced in committee, if my motion is passed, from $10 to $6, that is by a little over half, and that the fee for a certificate of ten years' residence will be reduced from $5 to $2, that is by more than half. It has been thought undesirable at the moment to reduce the other fees to start-off but it is the intention of the Government to treat this question sympathe- tically and always keep the question of fees under review raising them only if there is a serious need so to do.

The object of the Bill is not to obtain revenue, but it is necessarily part of its object that it should, in these days, be administered as economically as possible and that the fees should go as far as possible to pay for the undertaking. If there is a surplus over I have no doubt the Government will consider reducing the fees on that ground alone. It is probably that the fees will not exceed the cost of administration of the department concerned.