476109-1938-Minutes-No-3 — Page 2

THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, MAY 13, 1938.

MINUTES.

2. The Minutes of the Meeting held on the 13th April, 1938, were confirmed.

351

PAPERS.

3. The following paper was laid on the table :-

By-laws under the heading "Reconstituted Milk and Reconstituted Cream" made by the Urban Council under sections 5 and 6 of the Public Health (Food) Ordinance, 1935, Ordinance No. 13 of 1935, on the 29th day of March, 1938.

REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.

4. The Colonial Secretary laid on the table the Report of the Finance Committee

(No. 3), dated 13th April, 1938, and moved its adoption.

The Financial Secretary seconded.

Question-put and agreed to.

QUESTION.

5. The Hon. Sir HENRY EDWARD POLLOCK, Kt., K.C., LL.D., said:-

By permission of Your Excellency I beg leave to put the following question, of which I have given too short notice for it to be included in the Orders of the Day :-

With reference to the Report of the Commission on Rents which was published as a Sessional Paper No. 5 of 1938, will the Government state what steps has the Government taken, or does it propose to take, for the purpose of dealing with the present rent situation?

The Colonial Secretary replied as follows:-

At the meeting of this Council held on 9th March, 1938, when the appoint- ment of the Commission in question was announced, Your Excellency

said:-

Should the report of that Commission - and I hope that it will be able to reach its conclusions rapidly-convince Government that action is necessary along the lines which I have mentioned, a bill will be put before you with all possible expedition."

The recommendations of the Commission have been accepted by the Govern- ment including the general position that no case has been made for immediate legislative action in the matter of rent restriction.

At the same time the possibility of such action becoming necessary in the future, as is suggested in the final paragraph of Part VI of the Report, will be borne in mind. In particular the Government is keeping a close watch on the statistics of arrivals and departures as the present abnormal increase in the population of the Colony is clearly the chief factor in the situation which called for the appointment of the Com- mission.