630820-1899-L-C-Minutes-No-13 — Page 2

1586 THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 14TH OCTOBER, 1899.

C.S.0. 3249 of 1899.

C.S.O. 1948 of 1899.

HENRY A. BLAKE.

The Governor recommends the Council to vote a sum of Ten thousand and Eight hundred Dollars ($10,800) in aid of the vote for "Scavenging the City, Villages a nd Hill District."

Government House, Hongkong, 13th September, 1899.

HENRY A. BLAKE.

The Governor recommends the Council to vote a sum of Five thousand Dollars. ($5,000) to defray the cost of the "Pokfulum Conduit Road."

Government House, Hongkong, 21st-September, 1899.

The Colonial Treasurer seconded.

Question-put and agreed to.

REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.-The Colonial Secretary, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid on the table the report of the Finance Committee dated the 24th August, 1899, (No. 4), and moved its adoption.

The Colonial Treasurer seconded.

Mr. WHITEHEAD addressed the Council.

His Excellency addressed the Council.

Question-put and agreed to.

REPORT OF THE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE. -The Director of Public Works laid on the table the report of the Public Works Committee dated the 31st August, 1899, (No. 2).

RULES FOR THE Taxing of COSTS IN THE SUMMARY JURISDICTION OF THE SUPREME COURT. --- The Acting Attorney General moved that these Rules be approved of by the Council.

The Colonial Secretary seconded.

Question-put and agreed to.

NOTICE OF QUESTIONS.-Mr. WHITEHEAD gave notice that at the next meeting of Council he would ask the following questions :-

(1.) With reference to the Honourable The Colonial Secretary's report, dated 8th October, 1898, on the extension of the Colony, which under Expenditure reads:-"The cost of administer- ing the New Territory is estimated at $125,000. The chief items are:-Police $33,223, Surveyors $14,400, Miscellaneous $24,657, total $72,280. When the work of survey has been completed such a large staff of surveyors will be unnecessary, but it is important, as has been pointed out, that the land under cultivation should be surveyed as quickly as possible. Miscellaneous expenditure has been estimated at a high figure, as unforeseen expenses are sure to be large when the territory is first taken over," will the Honourable Member inform the Council how and upon what basis the said estimate was arrived at, and state whether the Honourable The Captain Superintendent of Police was satisfied that the said estimate of $33,223 per anışım would be adequate to efficiently police the New Territory, seeing that in the statement of expenditure in connection with the New Territory for 1898 laid upon the table to-day the grand total of expenditure amounts to no less than $346,629.17, of which the police expenditure, actual and estimated, for April to December, 1898, is $88,972.10?

(2.) Will the Honourable The Colonial Secretary lay upon the table a statement showing the expenditure incurred by the Colonial Government in consequence of the rebellious dis- turbances and the armed Chinese opposition to British occupation of the Territory leased by the Imperial Chinese Government per the June Convention of last year?

(3.) With reference to Financial Minute No. 12 in which the Governor recommends the Council to vote a sum of $91,500 to cover the cost of three steam launches required by the Police in the waters of the New Territory, will the Honourable The Harbour Master inform the Council :—

(1.) Whether tenders for the construction of the launches have been invited from the

various shipbuilding institutions in the Colony?

(2.) If so, has any tender been accepted and if accepted what will be the cost of the

respective launches?

(3.) What are the sizes of the hulls and the engines?

(4.) Will they be composite built or will the frames be of hard wood?

(5.) If of the latter will the curved frames be natural or cut from straight timber?

(6.) Whether launches with frames of wood are more costly than those with steel

frames?

(4.) Will His Excellency the Governor appoint a day for the election, by such Ratepayers as are included in the Special and Common Jury Lists and also by such Ratepayers as are exempted from serving on Juries on account of their professional avocations, of twe Members to fill the racancies in the Sanitary Board in accordance with Sections 4 and 5 of the Public Health Ordinance No. 24 of 1887, and will His Excellency the Governor appoint one European and two Chinese Members to the Sanitary Board in accordance with section 4 of the Public Health Ordinance No. 24 of 1887 ?