1910-06-02 — Page 1

42 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 2ND JUNE, 1910.

PRESENT:―

HIS EXCELLENCY THE OFFICER ADMINISTERING THE GOVERNMENT, HON. SIR F. H. MAY, K.C.M.G.

HON. COLONEL C. W. R. ST. JOHN (Officer Commanding the Troops).

HON. MR. A. M. THOMSON (Colonial Secretary). HON. MR. C. MCI. MESSER (Colonial Treasurer). HON. MR. W. SLADE, K.C. (Attorney-General).

HON. MR. W. CHATHAM, C.M.G. (Director of Public Works).

HON. MR. A. W. BREWIN (Registrar-General).

HON. MR. F. J. BADELEY (Captain Superintendent of Police).

HON. DR. HO KAI, M.B., C.M.G.

HON. MR. WEI YUK, C.M.G.

HON. MR. E. A. HEWETT.

HON. MR. M. STEWART.

HON. MR. E. OSBORNE.

HON. MR. H. KESWICK.

MR. C. CLEMENTI (Clerk of Councils).

Telegrams

HIS EXCELLENCY―Before we proceed to the orders of the day I will ask the Clerk to read various telegrams which have been received.

The following telegrams received by His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government from the Secretary of State for the Colonies were then read:

London, 23rd May, 1910.

His Majesty the King commands me to express to Legislative Council his warm thanks for their dutiful message on the occasion of his accession to the Throne, He deeply appreciates their wishes for the prosperity of his reign.

(Sd.) CREWE.

——

London, 24th May, 1910.

His Majesty the King commands me to convey following message for publication:―

To my people beyond the seas:―

The innumerable messages of kindness from my loyal subjects beyond the seas have deeply touched my heart and have assured me that I have in full measure their sympathy in the great trial which has befallen me and them, that my sorrow is their sorrow, that I share a common loss. The happiness of all his people throughout his dominions was dear to the heart of my beloved father. For them he lived and worked, in their service he died, and I cannot doubt that they will hold his name in grateful remembrance. I am now called to follow in his footsteps and carry on the work which prospered in his hands. As a sailor I have been brought into constant touch with the oversea dominions of the Crown and I have personally realized the affectionate loyalty which holds together many lands and diverse peoples in one glorious fellowship. Nine years ago I travelled through the Empire accompanied by my dear wife, and had the late King lived we should together, at his expressed wish, have visited South Africa in the coming Autumn to open the first parliament of the South African Union, the latest and greatest evidence of that peace and harmony which my father ever loved to promote. It will be my earnest endeavour to uphold Constitutional Government and to safeguard, in all their fulness, the liberties which are enjoyed throughout my dominions; and, under the good guidance of the Ruler of all men, I will maintain on the foundation of freedom, justice and peace the great heritage of the United British Empire.

(Sd.) CREWE.

——

London, 24th May, 1910.

His Majesty's birthday will not be celebrated this year in any part of the Empire.

(Sd.) CREWE.

——

London, 27th May, 1910.

Half mourning will come to an end on 30th June instead of 29th July.

Minutes

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 43

controversy. The exact opposite is my aim. My aim is to

bring it to an end―at least for the time being. I propose a

The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.

Appointment

HIS EXCELLENCY ―It is necessary that a member to serve on the Public Works Committee in place of the Hon. Mr. W. J. Gresson, who has retired, should be appointed, and I appoint Mr. Henry Keswick.

Financial Minutes

The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid on the table Financial Minutes (Nos. 40 to 44), and moved that they be referred to the Finance Committee.

THE COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

Financial

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid on the table the report of the Finance Committee (No. 5), and moved its adoption.

THE COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

Papers

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid on the table the following papers: Draft appropriation account for the year 1909, Report of the Registrar-General, Report of the Harbour Master, and the Reports of the Captain Superintendent of Police and of the Fire Brigade for 1909.

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, by command of His Excellency, laid on the table the report of the meeting of the Public Works Committee held on May 19th.

The Debated Site

HON. MR. M. STEWART―Your Excellency, I rise to move that, before putting up to auction the plot of Crown Land situated to the north of the new Law Courts, the Government shall refer the proposed conditions of sale to this Council. In doing so, I have no desire to prolong a

truce. If I could have seen my way to achieve this object by asking questions, and thus have saved the Council from the calamity of a speech, I should have been glad. I could not see my way because matters of opinion met me at every turn and these are taboo in official answers to questions, I was reminded of that fact by your Excellency when I gave notice of my last series of questions on this subject. You cut off the tail of the series―the sting was in the tail―because an answer to it would have involved an expression of opinion. Oddly enough, in answering the other questions, the Honourable the Colonial Secretary expressed what I venture to regard as a mere opinion when he said that it was not formerly the intention of the Government to keep the site. Well, the history of the past is capable of diverse interpretations. It all depends upon the historian's point of view. From my point of view, I seem to see that the Government did formerly intend to retain the site, but that recently, owing to the financial difficulties into which we have been thrust by latter-day developments of the opium policy, the official mind has changed. I fancy that Sir Henry Blake, for one, would support this interpretation of the facts. The Hon. Colonial Secretary, in his anxiety to prove continuity of policy, threw over Sir Henry Blake, and the Hon. the Director of Public Works, whose categorical statement was reduced to the status of a mere echo of the hope expressed by his chief. Here I want to dot an "i." It was in a debate in this Council in July, 1903, that the hope was expressed by Sir Henry Blake that the ground in front of the Club would never be built upon. He would not have so described the area where the late King's statue now stands. He could not have referred to it thus, because the arrangement for its reservation had already been made. Already, at that time, the Hongkong Bank had fulfilled their part of the agreement. Already their plot had been railed in. The fact that only now, seven years after, and now only as a result of strenuous efforts on the part of the community, are the railings for the Government plot about to be ordered from Home, makes

44 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

no difference to the argument, which is concerned solely with the other lot, indicated quite unmistakeably by Sir Henry Blake. To sell it as a building site clearly does interfere with the hope expressed by him. This was expressly denied by His Excellency the Governor in the last debate on the subject. He went out of his way to say that the new proposal did not interfere with the hope expressed by his predecessor. That statement was received as gospel in certain quarters and used with some argumentative effect by supporters of the Government in the Press. I controverted it to the best of my ability, and I am glad to have the support of the Hon. Colonial Secretary. His answers to my tailless questions imply that the hope expressed and echoed did refer to the plot which the Government propose to sell. Thus the Hon. Colonial Secretary not only threw over Sir Henry Blake and the Hon. the Director of Public Works; he threw over also Sir Frederick Lugard. This is a somewhat curious result of an attempt to establish a claim to continuous and united opinion in the ranks of the Government. No one quarrels with changes of policy which can be reasonably defended. Everyone quarrels with reasons that are obviously unconvincing. Only one of these having been laid bare by my first series of questions, and several more remaining to be dealt with, I thought it might take rather a long time to achieve, by the method of interpellation, the object I have in view. So I was driven back upon the old fashion―which has lately become the vogue at Home―of dealing with the subject by resolution. In proposing the present one let me say, first, that I am still of opinion that the land in question should be reserved for public purposes. Notwithstanding the defeat of my resolution affirming that opinion, I have become immensely strengthened in it. I found His Excellency the Governor's argument even less convincing on reflection than it seemed at the time. I found also that I was not singular in so regarding it. Contrary to his expectation, it failed to convert the signatories of the original letter of protest. All but a very few signed the second letter, stating that having considered the reasons advanced in this Council in support of the proposal to sell, they were still opposed to it. The proposal to sell, found, indeed, one doughty champion in the Hon. Mr. Osborne, and the quidnuncs of the local Press echoed him in chorus.

The only other ostensible supporters of the Government were anonymous letter-writers, who don't count. One of the quidnuncs wrote that only a "reckless person" would oppose the sale after hearing the reasons advanced in defence of it. In that case Hongkong must be in a "parlous state." It is largely run by men thus reckless. Nearly all the leading British merchants, the managers of all the British banks, and prominent members of the legal and medical professions signed the second letter of protest. It bore in all some 90 signatures, and, but for the hustling tactics of the Government, would have borne more. This helped to sustain me in the belief that I had not gone out of my mind, as was amiably hinted by supporters of the official view. There is a saying that "one man with an idea in his head is in danger of being considered a madman; two men with the same idea in common may be foolish, but can hardly be mad; ten men sharing an idea begin to act, a hundred draw attention. In this case ninety succeeded in drawing attention. But that was all their success. The Government refused to be guided by the expression of opinion referred to―not thrust upon them, as has been suggested, but invited in both instances. In spite of it, an intention of proceeding with the sale has been announced in an official letter, and that is the last that has been heard of the matter. That is the position which we, who deplore the decision, have to face. We are powerless to prevent it. We must just try to make the best terms we can under the circumstances. The terms proposed by my resolution would at least afford a measure of protection. This I conceive to be our need. Let me indicate the nature of it. No one is likely to forget that $30 a foot was mentioned as the upset price proposed. From the way it was dealt with in His Excellency the Governor's speech the community inferred that there was at least a probability of securing it. The unofficial members were solemnly warned against voting for my resolution. They were told they would be postponing to the Greek Kalends many needed public works. The inference was that the Government had something almost as good as a firm offer in hand. The Standard Oil Co. was named as the applicant, and it was generally assumed

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 45

that they were prepared to pay this price for it. The community jumped to that conclusion. For myself, I think that this was natural under the circumstances. It is now said that the so-called application was merely a request to know the price at which the Government would sell. The price having been named, no intimation, no hint even, was given that the Standard Oil Co. was prepared to pay it. I am credibly informed that they are not prepared to pay it. I have the local manager's leave to state the fact, here and now. According to him, the only architectural conditions which would make the purchase at that figure a "business proposition" must allow of a building ten stories high. I do not imagine that the Government contemplate allowing that. Thus it appears that the six lakhs of dollars, of which so much has been made, was, after all, a mere subjective illusion―a sort of mirage. When one comes to think of it there was an air of unreality about it from the first. Its purchasing power was magical. It was to pay for public works costing ten times as much. It was like something out of the Arabian Nights. Many people had quite a good time spending it, as a gambler spends his imaginary winnings. It made the Colony feel quite rich. With the fading of this financial comet disappears, it may be thought, the need for further controversy. But it must not be forgotten that the Governor has full power and a perfect right to name any upset price he pleases. There is no guarantee that he will not so exercise it. If he finds that he cannot get $30 a foot, he may decide to take $25, or even $20; in fact, there is no limit to his discretion in the matter at all, so far as I am aware. My resolution, if accepted, would act as a check. In effect I appeal to your Excellency to waive these particular powers in this particular case. The only assurance which has so far been given relates to those artistic considerations which I have had the temerity to advance in this Council. The assurance is that the public may rely upon the Governor-in-Council to impose architectural conditions of sale which will preserve "the beauty, dignity, and symmetry of Royal Square." I trust I may be excused for saying that it fills me with but little confidence. I desire to speak with the greatest respect of the Executive Council. I intend no disrespect in pointing out there is no antecedent probability that its judgment on artistic matters will always be just. I take it that the qualification for membership of the Executive Council is administrative

ability, and administrative ability does not necessarily carry with it architectural good taste. Not only is there no reason to expect that the Governor-in-Council should display it; there is the evidence in our senses, appealed to in many directions in the Colony, to prove the contrary. It is not necessary to go outside this controversy to find a case in point. In one of the letters which I had the honour to receive on the subject from the Honourable the Colonial Secretary it was advanced as a reason for building on the site in question that it would be an aesthetic advantage to hide the "unsightly roofs"―the words are not mine―"the unsightly roofs" of the new Law Courts. Who passed the designs for that building? Surely the question of accepting them was not left solely to the Honourable the Director of Public Works? Surely the Executive Council had something to say. I imagine the members must have seen an elevation of the building. Even from a small elevation it should have been seen that those roofs were wrong; I cannot imagine how anyone could help seeing it, and yet the Governor-in-Council apparently failed to. The Government's contention is an admission of failure on the part of the very body that we are invited implicitly to trust to impose conditions of sale under which nothing unsightly can spring up on the plot in question. It is not wonderful that the roofs of the Law Courts should be described as unsightly by independent critics. But it is wonderful that the government responsible for the construction of a building which has so far cost seven lakhs and taken seven years to erect―seven years during which they have had the designs in contemplation ― should now calmly state that the effect promises to be so ugly that the best thing to do is to hide it from the harbour view! This, indeed, is "wonderful out of all whooping." Why not have complained to Sir Aston Webb long ago and had the roofs altered? A failure of this sort―not merely admitted but advertised in so amazing a manner―should strengthen the case in favour of my resolution. Autocratic powers thus ineffectually wielded should be placed on a

46 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

broader base. They should be shared, as far as is practicable, with the public. Architecture is the one art in which everyone has an interest. You need not bother your head about painting or sculpture; you need never see anything of them unless you please. But if you live in a town you cannot help seeing the buildings about you, and whether they are a pleasure to look at or the reverse is everyone's personal concern. Taste in architecture is just as likely to be the possession of any ordinary "man in the street" as of any member of the Executive Council, and as it is "the man in the street" who has to suffer from unsightly roofs―whether on the Courts or on Blake Pier ― or other unfortunate results of mistakes being made, he ought to have an opportunity of making his voice heard in the choice of a building on the most prominent position on our only public square. It may be said that the conditions of sale will, in any case, have to be published in the Gazette, and that this will provide opportunity for public discussion. But, once that is done, I am afraid we shall be told that nothing more can be done, in the absence of "an overwhelming and practically unanimous outcry on the part of the British and Chinese population." That, as we all know, only arises in this Colony over such matters as plague, pestilence or a water famine. We cannot look for it in a matter of this sort which does not naturally make such a general appeal as the fear of death, or the sight of the idly gaping water taps. I have said that I believe the idea of selling the site is at the moment dead, and I have no ambition to slay the slain. But I do not feel sure that it may not come to life again, and I am anxious to provide against this eventuality. Accordingly, I move the resolution.

HON. MR. WEI YUK―I beg to second the motion.

HIS EXCELLENCY ― Gentlemen, I desire to say a few words in reply to references which the mover of the resolution has made to a former Governor and to the absent Governor. It is not in the power of any governor to give to an individual or to dedicate to the public one square inch of land in this Colony without the sanction of the Secretary of State. Therefore, when the Colonial Secretary said that Governor Sir Henry Blake merely expressed a wish

when he referred to this area being kept free of buildings he was perfectly correct. It is only the Government of the Colony with the due sanction of the Secretary of State which can dedicate land to the public. I have no doubt that Sir Henry Blake did entertain such a hope, but it is impossible to identify Sir Henry Blake when he made that expression of a wish―or Mr. Chatham―with the Government of the day. Then as regards the statement of Sir Frederick Lugard which the hon. member quoted, it is quite intelligible. He said: "Nor is it to be a bar to the hope expressed by one of my predecessors ― Sir Henry Blake ― seeing that the Government intend to preserve the entire area between the Law Courts and gardens on the opposite side, together with a corresponding area on the west side of the plot now under discussion, and these areas are now being laid out as public gardens. The plot in fact is outside the rectangle of Royal Square, and its inclusion in the rectangle would distort its symmetry." That refers to a considerable portion of the area which Sir Henry Blake wished to keep clear of buildings and dedicate as a garden. The whole of Sir Henry Blake's wish will not be fulfilled, but a considerable portion of it will. Having cleared the ground of the two references to which I alluded, I now come to the resolution of the hon. member. The Standard Oil Company, whether frightened by the broadsides of the hon. member or by the pen of a certain lady contributor to the columns of the Press, have not pursued their inquiries with regard to this particular plot of land. Therefore, there is no question of an immediate sale, and that being so I think hon. members will quite appreciate my position and quite understand me when I say that it is impossible for me to accept this resolution, because by accepting it I should bind the Government for an indefinite period, which is obviously not competent for me to do. At the same time I can assure members of Council that if a sale should be negotiated the Council will not be kept in ignorance of the principal conditions upon which it is proposed to put the land up for auction. (Applause.) In conclusion, I desire to defend the Executive Council from the charge that it is lacking in artistic taste. The hon. member has referred to the design of the Law Courts. I advise him

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 47

strongly to wait until that building is completed, and when it is finished I venture to say that it will be regarded by all unprejudiced persons as the finest, or, at any rate, one of the finest and handsomest buildings in the Colony. (Applause.)

HON. MR. HEWETT―I did not propose to speak upon this subject until I heard what your Excellency had to say. I hold no brief for anybody, but there is one point which I think ought in justice to be made clear. I hold, as I say, no brief. I am not asked to speak for anybody, but I speak for myself. I can assure your Excellency of one thing. You intimated that the Standard Oil Company have never seriously contemplated the purchase of this plot, but, if the hon. member on my left will excuse me for saying so, it was the rapacity of the Treasury which prevented the sale. It was merely a question of the price which they, as business men, could not in justice to their employers accept, and I think that is the gist of the whole thing.

HIS EXCELLENCY ― Does the hon. member, after what I have said, wish to press his resolution?

HON. MR. STEWART―I am extremely sorry to inflict myself again on the Council, but I should like to remove the impression which I seem to have raised in your Excellency's mind that I was indicating the view that the Law Courts was not, in the main, a beautiful building. I think with you that the effect of the roofs will not nearly be so bad when the dome is on, and I, in the original instance, never raised this point of the Law Courts' roof being so unsightly, that the only thing to do was to hide it. The Government, in a letter signed, Sir, by yourself, put forward this as an argument, but I would certainly recommend most people, before condemning that building, as seems to be the fashion, to wait as you suggest. There is one other point I should like to reply to. I am perfectly aware of the distinction between the expression of a hope and a promise confirmed by the Secretary of State as to the disposal of any land in this Colony for public purposes, and I quite understood that Sir Henry Blake had never gone any further than merely expressing his hope. Of course, if he had gone further, there would never have been any question on this matter; but the Government of the day, at the time those speeches referred to were made, did in my opinion intend that that site should be retained as an open space. If anyone were to take the

trouble to read the speeches made at the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Law Courts, they would see that it was abundantly clear that Sir Henry Blake desired this particular plot to be left open, and the categorical statement of the Director of Public Works that it would remain unbuilt upon. That created an impression in the public mind that the Government intended so to deal with it, and the fourth of the questions I put on the subject would have made it clear, if answered, that those questions led up, not to a request of the Government to say they had promised this irrevocably, but that the impression created was quite understandable, seeing how very freely they had stated their hopes. I have, of course, no wish to embarrass you, Sir, in the position in which you find yourself, but inasmuch as I intended this resolution to bind the Government for all time, and because I think that they ought to so bind themselves, I do not propose to withdraw it.

The resolution was then put to the meeting, with the following result:―

For: Hon. Mr. Stewart and Hon. Wei Yuk.

Against: Hon. Mr. Keswick, Hon. Mr. Osborne, Hon. Mr. Hewett, Hon. Dr. Ho Kai, Attorney-General, the Captain Superintendent of Public, the Registrar General, the Director of Public Works, the Colonial Treasurer, the Colonial Secretary, the Officer Commanding the Troops.

HIS EXCELLENCY ―The resolution is lost, gentlemen.

Typhoon Refuge

HON. MR. OSBORNE asked the following questions standing in his name:―

1. (a.) Whether a contract for the new typhoon breakwater has been let, and, if so, what is the contract date for completion of the work?

(b.) If a contract has not been let, what is the cause of delay in doing so?

(c.) On what date did the Home Authorities finally approve the plans of the breakwater?

48 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS made the following replies:

(a.) A contract has not yet been let.

(b.) Proceedings have been somewhat delayed by the difficulty experienced in negotiations with the lessees of K.M.L. 32. Modifications have been made in that portion of the scheme adjoining the above lot, which it is trusted will remove those objections. Another cause of delay has been the unfortunate illness of Mr. Boulton, 2nd Asst. D.P.W., who was engaged on the preparation of the plans and specifications, and who was obliged to depart for England on the 13th April, leaving the work incomplete. Matters are now in a forward state and tenders will be called for within three weeks from the present time.

(c.) On the 28th January, 1909.

Bathing Facilities

HON. MR. OSBORNE asked:―

(2.) Will the Government cause part of the foreshore at the Eastern and Western extremities of the town to be reserved and made suitable as public bathing places?

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS replied:―

It is not possible to give an undertaking to reserve areas in the places indicated, but should any application be received at the present time to utilize any portion of the beach for bathing it will be considered.

HON. MR. STEWART asked the following questions standing in his name:―

(i.) Is it the case that on the 9th May the wife of the lately deceased Assistant Magistrate of the Sun On District, on her way through to Tientsin with his body, was committed to prison in this Colony for seven weeks, for having in her possession a small quantity of opium dross, some anti-opium pills and a little raw opium, value, all told, about $30?

(ii.) Is it the case that His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, recognising the hardship created in this instance by the operation of the Opium Ordinance, quashed the sentence?

(iii.)Will the Government consider the advisability of so amending the Opium Ordinance as to provide magisterial discretionary powers or other means whereby bonâ fide travellers through the Colony having in their possession a little opium for private use may escape penalties intended for felonious smuggling?

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY made the following reply:―

On the 9th May a woman named Tang Li Sz was convicted (a) of unlawful possession of Tls. 8.9 of opium dross (under Ordinance 23 of 1909, section 35), and (b) of unlicensed importation of Tls. 7.0 of a compound of opium (under Ordinance 23 of 1909, sect. 51). She was sentenced to fines amounting to $355,00, or in default to seven weeks' imprisonment with hard labour. The value of the subject matter of the charge was about $30.00.

In the circumstances of the case, and as it was understood that the defendant's ship was leaving the next day, thus allowing no time for a re-hearing of the case, His Excellency decided to remit the penalty, otherwise the Magistrate would have reheard the case.

The Opium Ordinance as it stands forms the basis of a contract with the Opium Farmer.

The Magistrates already have discretion in imposing penalties and forfeitures, and further legislation is not considered necessary.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY moved the first reading of a Bill entitled, "An Ordinance to authorize the appropriation of a supplementary sum of Three hundred and fourteen thousand five hundred and thirty-three Dollars and thirty-two Cents, to defray the charges of the year 1909."

THE COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

The Bill provided for the money to be expended as under:―

Post Office .......................................... $ 62,254,99 Harbour Master's Department ........... 11,652,85 Observatory ........................................ 936.63 Miscellaneous Services ..................... 45,322.55 Police and Prison Departments ......... 1,478.16 Public Works Extraordinary .............. 186,852.75 Pensions .............................................. 6,035.39 —————

Total ..................................................... $314,533.32 —————

Pharmacy Ordinance Amendment

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill entitled, "An Ordinance to amend the Pharmacy Ordinance, 1908."

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 49

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

HON. MR. STEWART―I see that clause three refers to one Justice of the Peace.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY ― You are irregular. You ought to move the recommittment of the Bill if you wish to discuss it.

HON. MR. STEWART―I move that the Bill be re committed.

HON. MR. OSBORNE―I second it.

HON. MR. STEWART―It seems to me that in the Liquor Ordinance there was a similar clause, and it was decided to have the signatures of two Justices of the Peace before these drastic powers of search could be given into the hands of a police officer. I do not see why the same safeguard should not be put in here.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ― The reason it is put in is that is easy to get one Justice of the Peace. It would not be so easy to get hold of two. Speaking from my experience, I know that these things have to be done in a hurry. The stuff has to be got where it is. If the action is taken by ordinary summons information is apt to leak out. That is the idea of putting the power in the hands of the Justices of the Peace. It is only a question of convenience.

THE HON. MR. STEWART―That is perfectly obvious.

HIS EXCELLENCY―It is a common provision. It is in the Opium Ordinances. You want to make it as easy as possible. I think one Justice is as honest as two or more.

HON. MR. HEWETT ― You say one Justice is as good as any other. In any case the matter goes before the magistrate in the usual way, and if the parties have been injured they have their remedy. Therefore one signature is as good as two.

The point was not further pressed and Council resumed.

The Bill was then read a third time and passed.

Malicious Damage Ordinance

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill entitled, "An Ordinance to amend the Malicious Damage Ordinance, 1865."

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

Opium Ordinance

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved that the Bill entitled, "An Ordinance to amend the Opium Ordinance, 1909," be re-committed.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL said there were several amendments which had been printed in the copy of the Bill before the Council. He proposed the several verbal alterations as there shown, and afterwards moved the addition of the two new sub sections to clause three, so as to deal with unlicensed persons who were found in possession of cocaine and such like drugs which they had obtained legally, but which were in excess of the amount allowed.

HON. DR. HO KAI―In this case you exempt a fully qualified practitioner and persons acting under the direction of qualified practitioners. There is a clause in the Pharmacy Ordinance No. 12 of 1908 allowing licentiates of the Hongkong College of Medicine to dispense medicine to their patients, and also some other persons with the approval of His Excellency the Governor to do the same. If they had more than twelve official doses in their possession they would come under the operation of this clause. They are qualified medical practitioners whose qualifications have not been fully recognised by the Hongkong Government. Still they are allowed to practise here and should therefore be exempted.

HON. MR. HEWETT―Do they dispense? HON. DR. HO KAI―Yes, to their own patients.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ― I have no objection to their being exempted.

50 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

After debate a form of words was approved, and the Bill passed through committee.

On Council resuming,

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the third reading of the Bill.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to.

HIS EXCELLENCY ― Council stands adjourned sine die.

——

FINANCE COMMITTEE

——

A meeting of the Finance Committee was held afterwards―the Colonial Secretary presiding. The following votes were passed:―

Judicial and Legal

The Officer Administering the Government recommended the Council to vote a sum of Six hundred Dollars ($600) in aid of the vote, Judicial and Legal Departments, A―Supreme Court, Personal Emoluments, Additional 3rd Grade Clerk.

Educational

The Officer Administering the Government recommended the Council to vote a sum of Eight pounds and eleven pence sterling £8. 0s. 1ld.) in aid of the vote, Education, Other Charges, Victoria British School, Books.

Taipo Land Office Extension

The Officer Administering the Government recommended the Council to vote a sum of Three hundred and twenty Dollars and five Cents ($320.05) in aid of the vote, Public Works, Extraordinary, Extension of Tai Po Land Office.

Water Supply

The Officer Administering the Government recommended the Council to vote a sum of Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in aid of the vote, Public Works, Recurrent, Water-works, Maintenance of Shaukiwan.

THE CHAIRMAN―This is for the maintenance of the water supply at Shaukiwan.

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS―It was to augment the supply which had become short. We have already imported some water and pumped it into the service reservoir at Shaukiwan, and measures had been taken to introduce a supply here in the same way, but they have been suspended now that the rain has come.

Charity

The Officer Administering the Government recommended the Council to vote a sum of Fifty Pounds sterling (£50) in aid of the vote Charitable Services, Charitable Allowance to the family of late Lance-Sergeant A. Counsell.

———————