183857-1931-Supplementary-Bills-read-a-first-time--Appropriation — Page 7

882

[No. 25-1.9.31.-1.]

A BILL

Short title.

Amendment of Ordinance No. 16 of 1911, s. 4.

INTITULED

An Ordinance to amend the Money-lenders

Ordinance, 1911.

Be it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Money-lenders Amendment Ordinance, 1931.

2. Section 4 of the Money-lenders Ordinance, 1911, is' amended

2)

(i) by the deletion of the words ", not exceeding ten dollars for each registration or renewal," in the sixth and seventh lines of sub-section (1).

(ii) by the deletion of the words "three years in the second and fourth lines of sub-section (2) and by the substitution therefor in each case of the words one year ".

Objects and Reasons.

1. Section 4 of the Money-lenders Ordinance, 1911, following as closely as local circumstances permitted the form of section 3 of the Act of 1900 (63 & 64 Viet, c. 51), limited the registration and renewal fees for money- lenders to $10 and made registration and renewal effective for periods of three years.

2. Section 3 of the Act of 1900 was repealed by section 19 of the Act of 1927 (17 and 18 Geo. 5, c. 21), under section 1 of which annual money-lenders excise licences have to be taken out, the excise duty being £15.

3. It is intended to provide, in the Regulations made by the Governor in Council under section 4 of the prin- cipal Ordinance, for an annual registration or renewal fee of $50.

4. This Ordinance therefore dèletes from section 4 (1) the limitation of the fee to $10 and by amendments to section 4 (2) reduces the effectiveness of registrations and renewals from three years to one year.

September, 1931.

C. G. ALABASTER,

Attorney General.