CO129-617-6 Development- recommendations of Hong Kong Colonial Development and Welfare Committee 18-7-1947 - 23-12-1947 — Page 26

- 7 -

25

20.

21.

The suggestion that there should be established in Hong Kong a Plant Introduction, Maintenance and Exchange Station is not a new one. It has been discussed in Englands both before the war and since, with a number of officials and experts including Sir Harold Tempany, Sir David Chadwick and Sir Edward Salisbury. The suggestion is thatan area be set aside for the introduction of plants from China and from other parts of the world. There would be facilities at this station for scientists from China to work and to study,

especially the British literature which Chinese scientists rarely have the chance of seeing. The collection of Chinese plants would include plantations of Chinese citrus and of the many species and varieties of bamboos native to China. From other parts of the world there would be included collections of fodder grasses, of leguminous cover crops, of fruit trees and of other economic plants. The idea behind this station is that it would serve as a distribution centre from which Chinese plants could be sent to parts of the Colonial Empire where they were needed and plants sent to China from other parts of the world. It would also serve as a station where permanent living collections of economic plants would be maintained.

It is not suggested that the capital cost of establishing this section of the station should be borne from the C.D. & W. allocation but that a separate application should be made for a grant from the Central Fund, Research, for this purpose.

22.

(h) SURVEYS.

(1)(ii) of comed by this rear

iii)

Topographical, land utilization and "economic minerals surveys are required in the New Territories. The lion, last survey would include investigation of geology, minerals and underground water supplies. As Geological Survey is included in the Central Schemes, Research, an application will be made, after expert advice has been obtained, for an additional grant from these funds for this survey.

Recommendation No. 8

20

£20,000

23.

24.

THE SEA.

Hong Kong has by far the largest fishing fleets of any British Colony. Although about a thousand large junk-trawlers were lost during the war and the state of both fleet and fishing community was pitiable at the end of hostilities, the number of fisherfolk has since more than doubled and the 5,000 fishing vessels now registered, though mostly small, is larger than ever before in the history of the Colony.

Since the war a Fisheries Department has been formed but the new post of Director of Fisheries still remains vacant. The problems are many: the chief ones are concerned with the poverty and indebtedness of the fishermen the drop in value of the Chinese dollar resulting in the fall in the wholesale price of salt fish to half the figure of a year ago, and the inevitability of mechanization linked with the fear that this may ruin the fisherfolk unless guided and controlled.

25.