1955-03-30 — Page 1

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 125

OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting of 30th March, 1955.

PRESENT:

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR (PRESIDENT)

SIR ALEXANDER WILLIAM GEORGE HERDER GRANTHAM, G.C.M.G. HIS EXCELLENCY THE COMMANDER BRITISH FORCES

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL CECIL STANWAY SUGDEN, C.B., C.B.E.

THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY

MR. ROBERT BROWN BLACK, C.M.G., O.B.E.

THE HONOURABLE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

MR. ARTHUR RIDEHALGH, Q.C.

THE HONOURABLE THE SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS

MR. BRIAN CHARLES KEITH HAWKINS, C.M.G., O.B.E.

THE HONOURABLE THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY

MR. ARTHUR GRENFELL CLARKE, C.M.G.

THE HONOURABLE THEODORE LOUIS BOWRING, C.M.G., O.B.E.

(Director of Public Works).

THE HONOURABLE DOUGLAS JAMES SMYTH CROZIER

(Director of Education).

DR. THE HONOURABLE YEO KOK CHEANG

(Director of Medical and Health Services).

THE HONOURABLE HAROLD GILES RICHARDS, O.B.E

(Director of Urban Services).

DR. THE HONOURABLE CHAU SIK NIN, C.B.E.

THE HONOURABLE CHARLES EDWARD MICHAEL TERRY.

THE HONOURABLE DHUN JEHANCIR RUTTONJEE.

THE HONOURABLE CEDRIC BLAKER, M.C., E.D.

THE HONOURABLE KWOK CHAN, O.B.E.

DR. THE HONOURABLE ALBERTO MARIA RODRIGUES, M.B.E., E.D. THE HONOURABLE RICHARD CHARLES LEE, O.B.E.

MR. ROBERT WILLIAM PRIMROSE (Deputy Clerk of Councils).

ABSENT:

THE HONOURABLE NGAN SHING-KWAN.

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 126

MINUTES.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 23rd March, 1955, were confirmed.

OATH.

MR. RICHARD CHARLES LEE took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and assumed his scat as a Member, of the Council.

PAPERS.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, by Command of His Excellency the Governor, laid upon the table the following papers: —

Subject. C.N. No.

Report of the Select Committee on the Appropriation and

the Revenue for 1955-56.

Stamp Ordinance (Chapter 1 17).

Stamp (Bank Authorization) No. 1 Order, 1955 ........................... A. 27 Unclaimed Balances Ordinance (Chapter 122).

Order by the Governor ..................................... ............................ A. 28 Emergency (Povisional Resettlement Areas) Regulations, 1954. Declaration under regulation 3 ..................................... ................ A. 29 Money-lenders Ordinance (Chapter 163).

Money-lenders (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations, 1955 A. 31 Companies Ordinance (Chapter 32).

Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Sixth Schedule) Order, 1955 ..................................... ..................................... ........... A. 32

APPROPRIATION (1955/56) BILL, 1955.

The debate on the Second reading of the Bill was resumed.

DR. K. C. YEO: —Your Excellency: Government shares the concern of my honourable Friend, the Senior Unofficial Member, about the wastage of nurses, especially in view of the increased

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 127

numbers which will be required to staff approved new major projects such as the new Kowloon Hospital. However, I am much happier with the position than I was two years ago. At that time the majority of newly graduated nurses were resigning to take up private nursing locally for which they were remunerated at a higher rate than if they had remained in the Government service. As stated by my honourable Friend, the present trend is for nurses on resignation to proceed to the United Kingdom for post graduate training to widen their knowledge and experience.

It must be borne in mind that our conditions of service for employment as a Nursing Sister demand that the candidate must be a Registered Nurse, Registered Midwife, have two years post graduate experience, one of which may be her midwifery training, be 25 years of age and of course be otherwise generally suitable for promotion to this grade. It was recognized that if nurses were to be encouraged to remain in Government Service something must be done to counteract the financial attractions of private nursing. This problem was examined by the Salaries Commission and as a result under the new revision nurses benefit in the following ways: Firstly, on completing their 4 years training they jump two salary points; Secondly, four more salary points have been added at the top of their scale.

Indications are that graduate nurses now fully appreciate the early promotion prospects which do in fact exist in the Government Service. Since 1951, five locally trained Nurses have been promoted from Nursing Sister to Senior Nursing Sister, and twenty-three from Nurse to Nursing Sister. The last of these promotions was on the fourteenth of this month and the position is now that there are no more graduate nurses with the requisite qualifications and experience who have not been made Nursing Sisters.

Promotion to the higher scale posts in the general nursing service is dependent on vacancies existing and when considering promotions to these posts length of service and general efficiency are naturally taken into consideration. With the expansion of the Medical Department's activities however, there are posts created from time to time which require special qualifications such as Sister Tutors, Health Visitors and Psychiatric Sisters, and consideration is certainly given to those nurses who have obtained

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 128

the necessary qualifications either on their own initiative, after having resigned from the Service, or with Government's assistance. In 1953 a locally trained Nurse was promoted to Sister Tutor and a Nursing Sister to the post of Health Visitor, after they had obtained the necessary qualifications in the United Kingdom.

I thank my honourable Colleague, Dr. Rodrigues, for his suggestion about the provision of individual record-books for school children to service as a guide for parents as well as physicians, in their future health care. I am glad to assure my honourable Friend that this matter is already under consideration.

MR. D. J. S. CROZIER: —Your Excellency: Government is in complete agreement with the views expressed by my honourable Friend, Dr. Chau, and other honourable Members, that the need for a greatly expanded primary system is the most pressing problem that faces Education to-day. We believe that the seven-year expansion programme announced by Your Excellency will meet this need, and that with the co-operation of experienced and reliable voluntary agencies that plan can be carried out. It will call for an increase in primary school enrolment of 26,000 per year for the next seven years. Even then we shall not have reached a permanent state of satiety; but increases beyond that period will be of smaller proportions. But for safe and satisfactory school expansion on whatever scale one condition is essential: it must be carried out with no serious threat to teaching standards, on the contrary, it must be accompanied by a further and continuous rise in standards. We must therefore attract to the training colleges candidates of the right quality, and ensure that they are trained efficiently and along the most modern lines. Adequate teacher training facilities are therefore of crucial importance; indeed as Your Excellency recently stated, they are a pre-requisite of any scheme for educational expansion.

With regard to Technical Education, Government is fully aware of its great and growing importance. Some indication of the heavy demand on the Technical College is shown by the increase in enrolment there from 625 students in 1948 to almost 4,000 today. But expansion on this scale has produced many difficulties; for example, in addition to the College building, 12 other school premises are in use in the evenings, and in some of these buildings practical work cannot be provided. Those recommendations

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 129

of the Burt Committee that could be implemented with our present available accommodation have been adopted: for example, the commencement of classes in commercial subjects, radio technicians' work, and in radar. A Standing Committee has also been set up to advise Your Excellency on all matters affecting Technical Education and details of part-time day release classes for engineering apprentices are now being worked out.

But as my honourable Friend has stated, there is still need for the provision of instruction in Textiles, in Production Engineering, and for an expanded Commerce Department. For all this, a new Technical College must be built, and what we envisage is a new and larger building to be constructed in Kowloon, leaving the present premises available for the Junior Technical School, and for some of the more elementary part-time classes.

In the United Kingdom, both Government and Industry are working together to provide well-equipped modern buildings and expert staff because the importance to manufacturers of a steady supply of trained personnel is realized. I should like to emphasize the value of this cooperation and I echo my honourable Friend's hope that in this enlightened Colony a similar degree of cooperation can be secured that will provide the development so necessary to our industrial well-being and prosperity.

With some bodies, I am glad to say, a high degree of co-operation already exists. I extend a warm welcome to other branches of industry to come forward with concrete offers of assistance in the work that we are already doing, and in the expansion for which we are now planning.

Another reason, Sir, for our desire to expand technical education where possible, bearing in mind our responsibilities in other directions, is the desirability, referred to by several honourable Members, of increasing the employment and promotion prospects of local men, including local officers in Government service.

MR. T. L. BOWRING: —Your Excellency: My honourable Friend, Dr. S. N. Chau inquired how far the cadastral resurvey of the New Territories had progressed. Unfortunately it has not been possible to proceed with this scheme as rapidly as was intended due entirely to the difficulty which has been encountered in obtaining staff capable of organizing and supervising this work.

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 130

Up to the present a senior land surveyor has been appointed on a three-year contract and this officer has been engaged on organizing the first of the survey camps in the Tsun Wan area. This camp is nearing completion and recruitment of the necessary assistant surveyors and other staff is in hand.

The survey equipment and vehicles required for the work and ordered from the United Kingdom about a year ago have now arrived in the Colony and survey work from this camp should therefore be in hand within about one month.

Further, the Secretary of State has recently informed Government that an appointment has been offered to an Australian Land Surveyor for the second of the three supervisory posts, and, if he accepts, he will be put in charge of the second survey camp in the Shatin area as soon as he arrives.

I must, however, repeat Sir, the warning I gave last year that it is unlikely that the survey will be completed in three years.

The Senior Unofficial Member also raised the question of car parking facilities. Recommendations have from time to time been advanced in favour of multi-storey car parks and whilst I am definitely of the opinion that additional car parking facilities are necessary both in Victoria and Kowloon, one of the difficulties has been the provision of suitable sites coupled with the fact that the operation of such garages would best be undertaken by private enterprise.

It is difficult at this stage to assess the effect which a tunnel might have on the parking problem and it has been argued that a tunnel might in fact relieve the situation but nothing can be said until Messrs. Mott, Hay & Anderson's proposals have been considered.

I regret, Sir, that I cannot give my honourable Friend Mr. Terry any assurance that we will be ‘out of the trenches by Christmas’ as I do not think we will.

Honourable Members will appreciate that the phenomenal number of trench openings in the roads which have been made by the Public Utility Companies and the Public Works Department

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 131

during the last few years is due, almost entirely, to the tremendous development and the rapid increase in the density of both residential and office accommodation. To cope with this expansion, water and drainage pipes, and telephone and electric cables have had to be lifted and replaced with new and larger mains, and this would be the case in any other large city under similar circumstances.

Since 1947 no fewer than 12,000 road opening permits have been issued to the Utility Companies, and the Public Works Department have made at least as many more openings in connexion with improvements to water supply and drainage.

I had hoped that there would be fewer road openings this year but in a report of an interview between representatives of the South China Morning Post and the Chairman of the Hong Kong & China Gas Co. published in that newspaper on the 23rd. March, it was stated that a wide extension of piped gas supplies could be anticipated in the urban areas of the Colony. As such an extension would involve large scale trench openings in the roads, I have written to the Manager of the Hongkong & China Gas Co. for more detailed particulars but these I have not yet received.

I think perhaps my honourable Friend Mr. Blaker is under a slight misapprehension in regard to the restriction of building inside waterworks catchment areas if he is suggesting that there is a total prohibition of such building over the whole of the catchment areas. Total prohibition is, of course, enforced only on areas within a distance of 500 yards from the actual reservoirs themselves where pollution would be particularly dangerous. Beyond that distance building is permitted subject to certain safeguards in regard to drainage etc. For example, nearly all the houses on the south side of the Peak, those in the Mount Cameron district and certain houses near Wongneicheong Gap are inside the catchment areas.

I have been giving consideration to the amendment of the regulations governing the prohibition of buildings in catchment areas, and hope to make recommendations for relaxing these somewhat in the near future. A point that has to be kept in mind, however, is that while modern methods of purification of water

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 132

can deal with almost any degree of pollution, the existing filtration plants on the Island are not designed to do so, and if the danger of heavy pollution is permitted these plants would have to be supplemented. Since there are not in fact many sites reasonably easy of access in these areas I am of the opinion Sir, that the cost of such work would not be justified.

In reply to the honourable Kwok Chan's reference to the cancellation of Crown Land permits, these are only cancelled to make way for permanent development including industrial purposes, low cost housing, resettlement schemes and other Government purposes.

Up to the present time, whenever possible, alternative sites have been found, but in many cases not without difficulty due to the acute shortage of suitable land.

As long notice as possible is given to a permittee but it must be emphasized, Sir, that the time has come when it is practically impossible to find new areas to be held on permit.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: —Your Excellency: In the course of the debate last week, my honourable Friend Mr. M. W. Lo suggested that Your Excellency should appoint a committee to make recommendations in relation to what may be broadly termed "law reform", and referred to the existence in England of a standing committee which has made important recommendations for amendment of the common law.

There has been in England for some years now a standing law reform committee appointed by the Lord Chancellor to which he may refer specific problems. If my memory serves me aright, it has existed since the nineteen thirties and it was reconstituted in June, 1952. From its early days, Sir, it has examined a number of problems and has made recommendations in relation to them. Some of these recommendations have been carried into effect, whilst others have not, for one reason or another. There have also been ad-hoc committees from time to time, such as the Nathan Committee on Charities and the Evershed Committee on the Practice and Procedure of the Supreme Court.

In Hong Kong we have also had ad-hoc committees, both formal and informal, for example, the McNeill Committee on the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, but so far as I am aware there

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 133

have never been a standing committee to which specific problems of law reform could be referred. Shortly after I came here, Sir, in September, 1952, I suggested in the course of casual conversation with one or two people that it might be a good thing if one were appointed, but my suggestion did not seem to be received with much enthusiasm and I did not pursue the matter further.

Although I myself think that law reform should be approached with caution and care, I am not adherent to the views of W. S. Gilbert's famous Lord Chancellor who thought that

"The law is the true embodiment

Of everything that's excellent;

It has no kind of fault or flaw

And I, My Lords, embody the law." (Laughter)

I think therefore that Mr. Lo's suggestion has much to commend it, and I propose to take the matter up with the Acting Chief justice. If in consequence, Your Excellency were to appoint a law reform committee, I would suggest that its terms of reference should be on the following lines—

(a) to examine, and make recommendations in relation to, amendments of the law enacted in England as a result of recommendations of the Lord Chancellor's Law Reform Committee or of any ad-hoc committee; and

(b) to examine and make recommendations in relation to any local problems specifically referred by the Governor.

As I have said, I will consult the Chief justice, and if he concurs, I think I should then consult the Bar Association and the Law Society.

I must however give a word of warning and it is in relation to the question of priorities. I don't think that it is generally known that at intervals of about two months the Attorney General and the Senior Crown Counsel in charge of the drafting section of my department meet the Colonial Secretary and his deputy for the purpose of settling a list of legislation in order of priority, and this procedure has been in operation since early 1953. I may mention that the current list, which was settled on the 4th of February, contains 52 items of legislation and that list takes no

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 134

account of routine requests for subsidiary legislation or minor amendments which come into my department day by day. Now it is obvious, Sir, that any recommendation which may be made by the law reform committee (if one is appointed) will have to be fitted into the current priority list and, also, that if the committee makes more than one recommendation at a time it should be asked to place them in order of priority.

Your Excellency, Mr. M. W. Lo in his speech referred to the recently formed "Hong Kong Civic Association", a body which has also had something to say about law reform. This was in a statement to the press which appeared in the South China Morning Post for Wednesday, the 16th of March, and the passage in the statement to which I allude reads as follows—

"There is the more insidious question of the "padding" of Government departments. Those who were here in the early days following the re occupation will remember the pioneer spirit that prevailed in the Government service. Some of the pioneer spirit seems to have evaporated. In many cases, expansion of the work of a department has justified the large increase in personnel, especially in the case of the Education Department. In others, one is left with the feeling that life is being taken too easily. A case in point is the Legal Department which has grown enormously in recent years and in inverse ratio to the achievement of its programme of law reform." (Laughter)

Sir, I am not one to complain of fair criticism made by persons who have taken the trouble to acquaint themselves with the facts and the circumstances of a particular situation, and, speaking for myself, I do not particularly resent unfair criticism, provided that I am afforded an opportunity to answer it. In this instance, the opportunity has arisen fortuitously by reason of Mr. Lo's reference to the body from which the criticism came. I am not, Sir, going to weary this Council with a lengthy catalogue of the activities of my department or with a long recital of statistics, but, Sir, I would crave indulgence to make some reply in fairness to the offices associated with me, in whom I, at any rate, have every confidence. The criticism of the Civic Association seems to assume that the principal activity of a Law Officers' Department is the preparation of legislation, or it fails

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 135

to take account of other equally important functions. I have already, Sir, said something about the current programme of legislation—those 52 items to which I referred—and I would only invite members of this Council and of the general public to consider the lists of Ordinances passed in 1953 and 1954. Sir, we began the year 1953 by passing the District Court Ordinance—a reform measure if there ever was one, and during that year put on the statute book 44 Ordinances, including such measures as the Training Centres Ordinance, the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance and an Ordinance making important amendments to the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. In 1954 the number of Ordinances which passed into law was (curiously enough) 54: these included Ordinances amending the Supreme Court Ordinance and the Magistrates Ordinance, a new Prisons Ordinance, a new Mining Ordinance, a new Trade Marks Ordinance, a new Wild Birds and Wild Mammals Protection Ordinance and a new Corporal Punishment Ordinance. And don't let us forget the subsidiary legislation: its form of enactment is different, its preparation takes just as much care as the preparation of an ordinance. It is said by the Civic Association that all this does not adequately reflect the growth in staff of my department, which is described as having grown enormously in recent years. I have not had the time to trace the history of my department since the Re-occupation, but from papers in my office, the professional establishment approved for the financial year 1949-50 was 13 officers who were the following: Attorney General, Solicitor General, a Crown Solicitor plus 10 Legal Officers—a total of 13. It is true that 3 Legal Officers were ear-marked for duty in the Registrar General's Department and two for magisterial, special and relief duties. The present professional establishment of my department is 16, comprising Attorney General, Solicitor General, 3 Senior Crown Counsel and 11 Crown Counsel. When it is taken into account that since 1949 one extra Puisne Judge, 3 District judges and extra Magistrates have been appointed, and also that since my arrival in September, 1952 nine officers of my department have been on secondment from time to time for varying periods, representing one officer away for the whole period (although we have never been up to strength), and when regard is had to other circumstances to which I will refer in a moment, I feel that the word "enormously" is somewhat out of place in the context in which the Civic Association thought fit to use it.

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 136

Sir, two aspects only of our work brings us into the public eye: legislation and litigation. No member of the public, and indeed, probably no single officer of Government, is in a position to assess the weight and quantity of work which falls upon my department in its advisory capacity: and in this connexion I may say that apart from references on files, there is the telephone and the conference. This work ranges over a wide variety of subjects, and as new Government departments have been created or existing ones expanded, advisory work has naturally increased. As an illustration of my proposition that the man-in-the street has no conception of the number and nature of cases upon which we are called upon to advise, may I cite the shooting down of the C.P.A. plane? As every one knows compensation has now been paid to Her Majesty's Government in respect of this disaster as a result of a protest and representations through diplomatic channels. If the man-in-the-street thinks, as he well may, that all the work was done by the Foreign Office in London, he is sadly mistaken. So much for the advisory part of our work.

Turning now to the other most important aspect of our work, namely, litigation, I am told that until the latest re-organization in 1952 only two Crown Counsel could be spared for Court work. This is not so now, as anyone who reads the newspapers can see. The increase in the Judicial establishment has made further calls on the services of my department, we are taking many more cases ourselves in all Courts, and we are now more available to the Police in an advisory capacity. Sir, I have had a summary of Court cases prepared for the twenty working days, including Saturdays, which is only a half day, between the 1st and 23rd of March: this shows that 50 cases were handled by officers of my department, involving 70 appearances. Of these cases, two took six days each, one four days and two others three days each and in one of those cases two counsel were instructed. This summary does not take account of the time taken to prepare cases for presentation to Courts or of cases in which Counsel have advised although they did not appear.

Your Excellency, I feel that I have said enough to show that the Civic Association's criticism is somewhat wide of the mark. It is said, Sir, that on the occasion of the late Queen Victoria's Jubilee the Lord Chancellor of the time was reading to a meeting of Judges the draft of a Loyal Address which began with the words "We, Your Majesty's Judges, conscious as we are of our

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 137

infirmities", whereupon Lord Justice Bowen, afterwards Lord Bowen, a great judge and great wit, proposed that the opening passage should be amended to read: "We, Your Majesty's Judges, conscious as we are of each other's infirmities" (Laughter) I leave the matter thus, in the hope that would-be critics will ponder Lord Justice Bowen's amendment before rushing into print. (Applause)

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY: —Your Excellency: My Colleagues have taken up a number of points which were raised at the last meeting of Legislative Council on the Second Reading of the Bill before us and I would like to follow up by commenting on a number of other points, which were raised on the same occasion.

My honourable Friend Mr. Kwok Chan made a plea for further assistance to low-cost housing by such means as favourable assessment of Government dues. The provision of low-cost housing at rents which those in the lower income groups in the community can afford to pay must, it is recognized, entail some form of subsidy. In consequence Government has agreed that such schemes, whether undertaken by employers for their staff, by Housing Societies and Co operatives, or by the Housing Authority, should be assisted by the provision of land at half the upset price, and, in some cases, by loans at low rates of interest and by grants to cover the cost of site formation. It is not considered that further subsidies are justified, and this includes any proposal for reducing rates, because the latter are a payment for municipal and other services to be met by all persons in the community in proportion to the annual value of the property they occupy.

The honourable Mr. Dhun Ruttonjee mentioned the development of Shatin. This has been under consideration by Government for some time. Whether such development would be primarily for cottage-type dwellings such as he suggests or on a larger scale for industry or orthodox housing, the same considerations apply. It will be necessary for the Public Works Department in consultation with the District Commissioner, New Territories, and other Heads of Departments concerned to prepare a comprehensive layout plan, and, should development proceed extensively, Government will have to consider whether the control of land matters should be brought under the Crown Lands Branch

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 138

of the Public Works Department. If such a decision had to be taken it would call for a considerable increase in the professional and technical staff of that Department, and although this problem is now under consideration, the recruitment of the required staff must be a slow process.

My honourable Friend also took up the question of providing accommodation and meals for factory workers. Government, as a matter of policy, encourages industrialists, when submitting their building plans for approval, to include canteens, and, in certain types of industries, quarters for employees, separated if possible from the actual factory buildings.

It is the intention of the planners of the Kun Tong scheme that it will be reserved for industry and that those who are granted land for the erection of factories should be required to provide nearby accommodation for their employees. Incidentally, while on the subject of Kun Tong and the terms on which land should be provided for industrial undertakings there, these have been under detailed examination for some time and, of course, account is being taken of the advantages and disadvantages of providing the land at reasonable prices which would assist sound industrial undertakings to establish themselves there. Needless to say, on an important and pressing problem of this kind, namely, reasonable assistance to our expanding industries, a number of views have been expressed about the best methods to be adopted and views on the lines of those stated by the honourable Mr. M. W. Lo at the last meeting of Council have already been considered in conjunction with other possible courses before us. The problem is still under consideration.

Again, on the subject of Kun Tong, I should like to assure my honourable Friend Mr. Kwok Chan that Government has noted that steps will have to be taken to ensure the effective control of smoke nuisance in the neighbourhood of Kai Tak Airport when industrial development takes place at Kun Tong.

The honourable Mr. Terry referred to the victims of squatter fires who are still encamped on some of the streets of Kowloon. Ten thousand fire victims have been resettled in the last two months and the number of such persons living in shelters on the streets of Shamshuipo now stands at a little over 8,000. About 3,000 of these will be resettled during May. No detailed plans for resettling the remainder have yet been made but they will be

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 139

housed as soon as they can be fitted into the resettlement programme. There is no question of these temporary encampments being allowed to remain indefinitely, and Government has no intention of exploiting the extreme forbearance which has been shown by the residents of Shamshuipo. Nonetheless, until the fire victims can be rehoused without disrupting the comprehensive resettlement programme we can find no satisfactory alternative to their remaining on the streets. Meanwhile the Police Force are exercising strict control over the areas where the temporary shelters are situated, and the Urban Services Department is doing all it can to deal with a situation which is, of course, from the public health point of view, extremely unsatisfactory. The only answer is resettlement, and these people will be resettled as soon as possible.

My honourable Friend Dr. Chau in discussing our educational problems drew attention to the fact that many of the children for whom we have to provide education are the offspring of refugees and are surplus to our normal population, and, on those grounds, he suggested that these people were an international problem and that, therefore, they might be regarded as an international responsibility. Later, he drew attention to Dr. Hambro's recent report on the problem of Chinese refugees in Hong Kong and to the suggestion therein that some form of international assistance, particularly of a financial nature, might be given to assist our refugee relief measures. While international assistance, both to assist in providing educational facilities and other relief measures for refugees, would be welcome, it must be remembered that Dr. Hambro's report has not yet been discussed by the Advisory Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and we do not know what the outcome of such discussions will be. However my honourable Friend was right in saying that the children of our refugees are being absorbed into the community and that the time has passed when it is possible to distinguish them from those of long established residents, and if we were, for instance, to be offered financial assistance for education, it would be most desirable not to have any strings attached to such assistance calling for, say, an unrestricted distinction between refugee and resident children; we should in any event have to approach this matter with caution because, if we accepted financial aid for capital expenditure, then additional recurrent commitments, possibly of a large nature, might then have to be accepted by this Government.

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 140

On the question of the military lands to which the honourable Mr. Blaker referred in his speech, it is true that negotiations have not proceeded as rapidly as could be desired. It is a problem hedged by many difficult issues both of principle and practice. In 1953 the Military Authorities put forward certain proposals which involved the surrender by them of Murray Barracks and Murray Parade Ground, but, in the view of this Government, these proposals were based on principles that were not entirely acceptable and they required from Government an excessive cash payment. Certain counter proposals were then made by this Government and are at present, I understand, under consideration in London.

On the other question of property affecting the Services, I can assure my honourable Friend Dr. Rodrigues that Government fully appreciates the concern felt at the continued requisitioning of La Salle College. Although I am afraid that this is a problem which does not offer any quick or easy solution, the representations of honourable Members will certainly be forwarded to London for consideration.

The honourable Mr. Terry drew attention to the inadequate postal facilities in Kowloon. Government accepts that it is desirable to improve these. A Post Office will be included in the new District Branch Office in Shamshuipo, while substantial modifications have already been carried out at the existing office in Tsim Sha Tsui. Government however agrees with my honourable Friend Mr. Terry that facilities at Tsim Sha Tsui are still inadequate. Provision for a new G.P.O. as part of the Kowloon Government offices is included amongst the works listed in Category C of Appendix II of the Estimates; this category is for items which are desirable but for which no immediate action can be contemplated. I regret that in view of the many competing claims for new buildings, no higher priority can be accorded at present on account of the staff position. The categories and the priorities, however, are under constant review by a Sub-Committee of Finance Committee.

My honourable Friends Dr. Chau and Dr. Rodrigues have spoken eloquently on behalf of fluoridation in Hong Kong. It is true that we had decided that we should not experiment here ahead of experiments being carried out in the United Kingdom following on the report of the United Kingdom mission to the United States to which reference was made by them, and this is a subject on

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 141

which we have found some disagreement amongst the experts. Nonetheless, Government is willing to re-examine the desirability and practicability of a fluoridation project in Hong Kong and this will be gone into again shortly.

May I now turn to the question of the tourist trade to which my honourable Friends Mr. Terry and Dr. Rodrigues referred? They both suggested the desirability of forming a committee to examine this question, and Mr. Terry had in mind the early appointment of a strong committee of responsible persons to undertake the promotion of the tourist trade. Government recognizes the value of the tourist trade and the survey of this has already been carried out by a Government official in consultation with the various commercial interests concerned; Government has the recommendations of this Report under consideration at the present time.

The expansion of the tourist industry is also dependent upon the way in which the attractions of Hong Kong can be brought to the notice of persons who have never been here. In 1953, a booklet on Hong Kong was produced by the Public Relations Office of which nearly 100,000 copies of the first edition have been sold or distributed and a second edition of 100,000 is at present being printed. The demand for this publication demonstrates the need for further local and overseas publicity, publicity to stimulate Hong Kong's trade and industry generally and the tourist industry in particular. It has therefore been decided in principle that Government shall have to add to the staff of the Public Relations Office a publicity specialist with all the facilities to enable him to produce up-to date literature of all kinds for local and overseas distribution.

At this stage I should mention the point raised by Dr. Rodrigues about the low cost of the Hong Kong Annual Report this year. The number of copies of this publication printed has increased from two thousand in 1950 to over six thousand for the 1954 report, and it is clear that it has in recent years become a most useful means of disseminating knowledge about the Colony's affairs. It contains a great deal of information of value to the business man and sufficient interesting photographs to make the attractions of the Colony plain to the prospective tourist. The data given in the report also helps to insure that Hong Kong's problems are given sympathetic consideration by outsiders. It

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 142

appears that many local residents buy copies of the report to send to friends abroad. This is exactly what Government wants and, by keeping the price of the report low, it is hoped that the widest overseas distribution will be encouraged.

To return to the question of encouraging the tourist industry, and particularly to the suggestion put forward by Dr. Rodrigues that the immigration procedures for tourist visas should be simplified and expedited, it is relevant to note that Government has very recently drawn up simplified visa regulations designed to enable visitors' visas to be issued in many cases without prior reference to Hong Kong. The new regulations at present await the Secretary of State's covering approval, and if this is secured, they will be distributed to British 'representatives abroad.

I should like to assure my honourable Friend Mr. Terry that the omission from the history chapter of this year's annual report of mention of the work done by Hong Kong Government officers and citizens in the difficult period from 15th to 30th August, 1945, when they were responsible for the Government of the Colony, will most certainly be corrected for future reports.

Lastly you will wish me to comment on certain Establishment matters which were raised at the last meeting of Council. Mr. Terry drew attention to the fact that under the revised scheme for salaries and allowances the pensions of expatriate officers were increased. The Salaries Commission sought means, without increasing the pensions of expatriate officers, to remedy what they regarded as the unrealistic method of assessing the pensions of local officers. They pointed out that they had received no evidence from expatriate officers that their existing pension rates were inadequate. They therefore suggested the consolidation of 25% of Cost of Living Allowance into basic salaries, at the same time making Expatriation Pay wholly non-pensionable. The effect of this would have been to reduce the pensionable emoluments of the majority of expatriate officers, although serving officers would have had their position protected by conversion allowances, and it would have lowered the value of many of our Hong Kong posts in relation to comparable posts in other Colonies.

Government did not consider that the degree of consolidation was sufficient and it was, therefore, increased to an average of about 33 ⅓% under the revised

scheme, and expatriate pay was

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 143

made half instead of wholly pensionable as in the past. Government endeavours to pay salaries in accordance with the work and responsibility of the post. Senior posts naturally carry additional responsibilities and are paid accordingly. In equity any increase in pensionable emoluments, as a result of increased consolidation of cost of living allowance, has to be applied throughout the Service. The estimated increase in pensions for the coming year over the Approved Estimates for 1954/55 is $1,600,000, an addition of approximately ⅛,

of which it is estimated that over ¾ will be for local pensions.

The next Establishment matter is recruitment of Hong Kong officers. Three of my honourable Friends, Dr. Chau, Dr. Rodrigues and Mr. Lo, mentioned the desirability of ensuring that wherever possible posts in our Civil Service should be filled by local as opposed to expatriate officers on the grounds both of economy and of providing opportunities for Hong Kong men and women. Honourable Members are aware, of course, that it is obligatory for the Public Services Commission to be consulted on the filling of all pensionable posts except those in the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force, the Police Force, those carrying ex officio membership of Executive Council, or of this Council, the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court and a very small number of senior posts which are set out in the first schedule of the Public Services Commission Ordinance. Expatriate terms of service are only granted to officers on the pensionable establishment or on long agreements, and the latter type of appointment falls within the definition of "special" appointments about which, by statutory requirement, the Public Services Commission must be consulted before an appointment is made. It will be appreciated, therefore, that only a very limited number of pensionable posts fall outside the purview of the Commission. I should add that the Public Services, Commission has always paid particular attention to the importance of recruiting local candidates wherever possible. The following paragraph has appeared in each of its published reports as follows: —

"The Commission has consistently advised the appointment of local candidates whenever vacancies can be filled locally by suitably qualified persons. In advising on an appointment involving expatriation pay the Commission has endeavoured to follow the principles enunciated in the

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 144

White Paper Colonial No. 197, and in Chapter III of the Report of the Salaries Commission, 1947. In no case has the Public Services Commission advised that an applicant should be given expatriation pay if a candidate, both qualified and suitable, has come forward who can be appointed on terms for local engagement."

In 1953 the Commission recommended recruitment through the Secretary of State or the Crown Agents for 61 vacancies after advertising 6 of them locally. The corresponding figures in 1954 were 91 and 10. All these posts were professional or technical ones. Where the Commission did not advise local advertisement first, it was aware from previous advertisement that candidates with suitable qualifications were not available locally, or that the salaries which Government can afford to offer were not sufficient to attract them. It is important to bear in mind this latter point. Able young Hong Kong men with professional qualifications often find it more profitable to take employment in Hong Kong outside the Government service.

There has in the past been almost complete reliance on the United Kingdom for recruitment to such grades as Inspector of Works and Clerk of Works in the Public Works Department. A training scheme introduced a few years ago is now beginning to bear fruit and local recruits are now being promoted to these grades. In this connexion honourable Members will be interested to learn that the non-expatriate professional staff of the Public Works Department, which includes the various categories of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors has increased by no less than 180% during the past five years, compared with an increase of only 30% in the expatriate staff. The following figures may also be of interest. In the year 1953/54 Out of a total pensionable establishment of 11,406 under 9.9% consisted of expatriate officers, and comparable figures for 1954/55 were a pensionable establishment of 12,035, of which only 9.2% were expatriate officers.

Promotion to higher posts must be by merit and seniority, and in grades or professions to which local candidates have only been recruited in recent years it is inevitable that there should be some delay before they reach the higher posts. The claims of local officers to promotion are given equal weight with those of expatriate officers and the number who have achieved promotion to the higher ranks of the Medical and Education Departments is only the beginning of an inevitable process. In this connexion I would like to quote some figures for

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 145

promotions of Non-Expatriate

Senior Education Officers in the Education Department: In 1950 the percentage was nil; in 1951 it was 9.1%; in 1952, 25.0% in 1953 it dropped to 21.4%; in 1954 it rose to 37.5%; and it remains at that figure for 1955.

I think that I must take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the members of the Public Services Commission. In spite of the fact that they are all busy men they give their services willingly, which means devoting many hours of their valuable time to the work of the Commission. Much of the work is humdrum and it carries with it no glamour or spotlight. It is work of fundamental, of vital importance, however, and Government is grateful indeed to the members of the Commission for their efforts and achievements.

Lastly there is the question of home leave and voyage time. My understanding of what my honourable Friend Dr. Chau said is that officers should be away from the Colony for shorter periods in order to effect economies of staff by reducing the need for leave reserves and I think that he also had in mind an amendment of the present rates at which vacation leave can be earned, the general effect of which would be, presumably, tours of approximately the same length but with shorter periods of leave. The honourable Mr. Blaker has suggested that voyage time should count against leave earned, presumably leaving officers to decide on whether they travel by sea or by air within the door to-door period approved.

Honourable Members will, of course, appreciate our contractual obligations to officers already in the Service and that any amendment of leave conditions would have to form part of a review of all conditions of service and, after such a review had been carried out, serving officers would have to be given the option of remaining on their existing conditions of service if they so wished. Apart from other aspects of this problem there is that which affects recruitment. A comparison of our leave rates with those of other Colonies shows that in general they are fairly uniform, with the exception of the West Indies, Malta, Cyprus and Gibraltar, which have less favourable terms. We must not forget that for Oversea Civil Service recruitment we are in competition with other Colonies and

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 146

that if we make our own terms less favourable we shall inevitably impair our recruiting prospects.

Turning to the question of length of tours, we have since 1951 been trying to find out whether there are any not too expensive ways in which the length of time officers are out of the Colony on leave could be shortened. Owing to the distance from the United Kingdom it appears that this would only be possible if all officers were made to fly both ways. We have had negotiations with certain air-line operators about the possibility of substantial reductions in fares to bring them nearer to the level of sea fares, but the operators have so far been unable to satisfy what we consider would be our requirements without a guaranteed minimum number of passengers and, furthermore, they have not yet been able to resolve the difficulty about baggage. If tours were reduced to two years or 18 months the cost of passages would be more than doubled unless staff could be substantially reduced. Our examination so far conducted has shown very few grades which carry a specific leave reserve and it does not indicate the likelihood of any marked reduction in staff. As far as the strength of our Establishment is concerned, my honourable Friend the Financial Secretary will be commenting on the proportion of Government staff to the total population of the Colony.

Another important aspect of the leave question is that of quarters. With our present shortage of these, few officers wish to have leave at frequent intervals because they realize that they and their families must repeatedly return to hotels and wait for long periods on return from leave before quarters are allocated to them. I need hardly mention that the provision of hotel accommodation is inevitably an expensive commitment for Government.

On Mr. Blaker's point about air charters, tentative inquiries have been received on behalf of certain operators who might, if the guaranteed number of passages were sufficient, charge an air fare equivalent to that for sea travel, but, once more, there is the question of baggage. It appears that the passage vote would remain unaffected but that reduction in travel time would lead to some saving in the salary vote. On the other hand, if air charters were associated with shorter tours the passage vote would increase.

These Establishment questions are far from simple ones. We are making

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 147

progress in bringing Hong Kong men and women into the Service and gradually into the senior posts, and where men and women have the requisite qualifications they are

given the fullest consideration. As far as vacation leave is concerned, I am not of opinion that this question calls for specific separate examination at the present time. (Applause)

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: —Sir: I am very glad indeed to find such unanimity of opinion among Unofficial Members in their approval of Government's policy of continued development of the Colony without recourse to additional direct taxation. That approval has been even further demonstrated by the Select Committee, which has added to the estimates, and to the deficit, an extension to the Grantham Training College, three primary schools, and a clinic.

There have been three positive suggestions for the financial future. One is that the cost of administration should be reduced, particularly by reducing expatriate staff, and tightening up their conditions of service; another is to increase the price of water; and another, which even if adopted will not I think help very much, is to withdraw the exemption from rates of empty tenements after a period of three months.

So far as the cost of administration is concerned, I have but to add to what has already been said, that the total number of public servants in this Colony provided for under personal emoluments is 26,094. This figure includes those employees who in other countries would be the employees of local or municipal authorities. That is to say the total of monthly paid public servants in this Colony represents just about one per cent of the population, and if my honourable Friends can produce for me any other country, even remotely comparable with this Colony, with a public service, including doctors and policemen; teachers and resettlement staff; administrators and garbage collectors; amounting in total to as little as one per cent of the population, I shall be glad to learn of it. Perhaps it may prove to be the Republic of Ecuador. (Laughter).

The suggestion that the price of water should be increased conflicts with the policy settled for very many years that, although the consumer should pay for the cost of water, Government should not look for a profit from its water undertaking. My honourable Friend did not make it clear if he really wishes the water

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 148

undertaking to be run for profit. If he does, Government will be glad to have the views of other honourable Members on this matter, for it means a very radical change in policy.

The honourable Mr. Ruttonjee also suggested that vacant tenements should not be exempt from rates after a period of three months. This in one respect strikes at the principle of rating, which is that rates must be borne by the occupier, and are in theory a payment by the occupier for what I might call municipal facilities. If there is no occupier then there should be no rates. The theory differs somewhat from practice in this Colony, and it may be that the suggestion which he has made is justifiable; at all events consideration will be given to the point.

While on the question of rates, my honourable Friend Mr. Blaker has made the suggestion that the Rating Ordinance should be revised as was done in the United Kingdom some thirty years ago. There was much legislation in the United Kingdom around that time, and it was chiefly concerned with the consolidation of rates into a general rate, because the purpose for which rates originally were applied, namely, the relief of the poor, was no longer valid with the continued growth of local government services. There also was an attempt, and not, I understand, a very successful one, to provide greater uniformity of valuation for rates. Other legislation around the time referred to, dealt with de rating, mainly of agricultural and industrial premises. I think the idea was to help the community out of the great depression of that time, but unfortunately de rating did not differentiate between depressed industries and prosperous industries, and while depressed industries benefited, so did prosperous industries, which needed no help. The local authorities who lost by these concessions had to be compensated from the central Exchequer by what are called equalization grants, the effect being that the general taxpayer took up the burden laid down by certain ratepayers. The local authorities have been complaining ever since that they have lost on the deal and their representations for repeal of the de-rating provisions have been insistent in recent years. Moreover the concessions given have been and still are the subject of much protracted litigation. We have declared here that we are not prepared to subsidize industry directly, and as at present advised, Government is not prepared to go further in the way of de-rating than it has already gone. But I shall be very glad to receive from my honourable Friend particulars of the changes in the Rating Ordinance that he considers desirable.

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 149

My honourable Friend Mr. Lo, raised the question of evasion of tax by, for example, a professional man taking cash for his professional charges and making no entry in his books. He

suggested that the way to stop this was to prescribe that any person who receives a sum of money in excess of $10 must give a receipt. I am afraid that this method of evasion of tax is a world wide one and is said to be very common in the United Kingdom. The proposed remedy is I fear a little impractical, for I see no means of enforcing such a rule where it is most needed. It will no doubt be realized that in many cases, not only would the professional man benefit by avoiding tax on the money paid, but the person who pays the money might also benefit by being charged somewhat less. Government is most reluctant to make any laws or regulations which cannot be generally enforced, and feels that a regulation such as has been proposed could be flouted with impunity, and would merely bring the law into contempt. Income tax authorities have means of dealing with evasion of that kind, even if only by rejecting the accounts of a person suspected of this type of evasion and raising an estimated assessment which the taxpayer will have to show is incorrect.

I think my honourable Friends Mr. Kwok Chan and Dr. Rodrigues have been under a misapprehension in what they had to say about sports facilities. I referred specifically in my introductory speech to the Colony Stadium. Reference was made to what was being done in the United Kingdom to provide facilities for recreation and for physical training, but the money that we are spending on the Stadium is primarily for the provision of accommodation for spectators to look at teams playing football. Whether looking at a game of football can be regarded as recreation is perhaps a matter of opinion; but it is certainly not physical training. (Laughter). Government has taken the view in the case of loans to private clubs to enable them to provide accommodation for spectators, that ten years is a fair period within which to repay, and must take the view that ten years is a fair period for repayment in the case of Government's own enterprise. There is little question of any return on money being spent on the provision of genuine facilities for physical training and exercise, and I would remind my honourable Friends of the sums that are being spent on the provision of playing fields at Victoria Park, on the Bowen Road Reservoir and elsewhere.

My honourable Friend Mr. Terry could not understand why personal

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 150

emoluments should be shown as a percentage of total expenditure. I can only answer that we endeavour to give as much help as possible to Unofficial Members in the way of comparative

figures, and that if this help is not in the form they wish, they have but to say what other comparisons they want and we shall do our best to supply them. In case the figure might be of interest, the proportion that personal emoluments, including pensions, bore to total expenditure in 1938, was 43.3% as against 35.6% for next year.

My honourable Friend Mr. Blaker raised the question of visits by Government representatives to existing and potential markets abroad. The Economic Secretary last year did in fact pay a visit to Indonesia. He made some useful contacts there, and on his return gave a full report to the Trade and Industry Advisory Committee. At a later stage arrangements were being made for a visit to South Korea, when it was discovered that the Chinese Manufacturers Union had already arranged for a visit to Korea by a delegation of their members. That delegation duly visited Korea and I am given to understand produced some useful information. In the circumstances it was felt that a visit by a representative of this Government was somewhat superfluous, especially as the Government of South Korea is now represented here by a procurement agent. The possibility of further visits abroad by Government representatives will not be lost sight of.

In conclusion, I should add, Sir, that the investigation into the fees and charges made by Government to which I referred on the occasion of the first reading of the Bill, is being pressed forward. The first result of this investigation appeared in last week's gazette, when the licence fee for moneylenders was considerably increased. It is hoped that a draft Bill will be introduced into this Council very soon to provide for revision of fees charged under the Marriage Ordinance. A further decision that has been taken is that the postage rate on airletters will before long be increased from 40 to 50 cents, and that the postal registration fee will be raised from 30 to 40 cents. I have already taken up with the Commissioner of Police the question of licence fees for motor vehicles, and I propose also to take up with him the question of charging for

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 151

parking space. (Applause).

The question that the Bill be read a Second time was put and agreed to. The Bill was read a Second time.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY moved the following resolution: —

That the Report of the Select Committee to which was referred the Appropriation (1955-56) Bill, 1955 together with the draft Estimates, be adopted.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put and agreed to.

Council then went into Committee to consider the Bill clause by clause. Clause 1 was agreed to.

Clause 2.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: —Sir: I propose that Clause 2 be amended as recommended in the report of the Select Committee.

Clause 2, as amended, was agreed to.

Schedule.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: —Sir: I move that the Schedule be amended in all particulars as recommended by the Select Committee.

The Schedule, as amended, was agreed to.

Preamble.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: —Sir: I move that the Preamble be amended as recommended by the Select Committee.

The Preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

Enacting Clause and Title.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: —Sir: I move that the Enacting Clause and Title

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 152

be amended as recommended in the report of the Select Committee. The Enacting Clause and Title, as amended, were agreed to

Council then resumed.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY reported that the Appropriation (1955-56) Bill, 1955 had passed through Committee with amendments and moved the Third reading.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put and agreed to.

The Bill was read a Third time and passed into law.

RESOLUTION REGARDING ESTIMATES.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY moved the following resolution: —

Resolved that the Estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 1955-56 together with the amendments proposed by the Select Committee be approved.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put and agreed to.

DOMESTIC CLEANLINESS AND PREVENTION OF

DISEASE (AMENDMENT) BY-LAWS, 1955.

MR. H. G. RICHARDS moved the following resolution: —

Resolved that the Domestic Cleanliness and Prevention of Disease (Amendment) By-laws, 1955, made by the Urban Council on the 15th day of March, 1955, under section 4 of the Public Health (Sanitation) Ordinance, 1935, be approved.

He said: —The purpose of these by-laws is very briefly set out in the explanatory note which is attached to them. I explained them much more fully at a meeting of the Urban Council on the 15th March, and the report of what I then said has been given full publicity in the press. I think therefore that it is

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 153

probably unnecessary for me to take up the time of this Council with repetition of the fuller explanation.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put and agreed to.

HAWKERS (AMENDMENT) BY-LAWS, 1955.

MR. H. G. RICHARDS moved the following resolution: —

Resolved that the Hawkers (Amendment) By-laws, 1955, made by the Urban Council on the 22nd day of March, 1955, under section 2 of the Hawkers Ordinance, Chapter 157, be approved.

He said: —These by-laws have been made with Your Excellency's approval, given in Executive Council, to enable the Urban Council to issue Pedlar licences in future freely to anyone who wishes to obtain one. Under the existing system, applicants for pedlars licences have to satisfy certain conditions in regard to need and long residence in the Colony, and licences are granted restricted to particular classes of goods and to particular districts. Pedlars are also permitted to sell only from door to door. In practice, however, the existing by-laws have been broken on an extensive scale; as honourable Members well know there are far more unlicensed hawkers than licensed hawkers in the streets, and the controls which the Police and the Urban Services Department have attempted to impose under the existing by-laws have proved largely ineffective.

Recognition of that position has led the Council to make these new by-laws. Under them, anyone who pays the fee will be able to obtain a pedlar's licence, and pedlars will be enabled to sell any commodity, with the exception of certain articles the sale of which by pedlars is absolutely prohibited, and except in certain areas where they will not be allowed to trade at all. Those prohibited areas comprise in general the main traffic highways, the main show window areas, the streets adjacent to markets and the beaches. The Urban Council and the Commissioner of Police consider that under these new by-laws a more realistic and practically effective control can be exercised.

The by-laws also provide for a new class of newspaper pedlar hawkers, for which again licences will be freely given, with the similar prohibition against the

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 154

pedling of newspapers and periodicals in the prohibited areas.

The Hong Kong press, Sir, has given full publicity to the changes of policy embodied in these by-laws, and I think it is probably unnecessary for me to take up more of honourable Members time with a detailed description of their effect.

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put and agreed to.

AIR NAVIGATION (ABATEMENT OF SMOKE NUISANCES) BILL, 1955.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the Third reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to make provision for the abatement of smoke nuisances affecting the use of Hong Kong Airport (Kai Tak) by aircraft."

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded.

The question was put agreed to.

The Bill was read a Third time and passed into law.

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.

H. E. THE GOVERNOR: —Honourable Members: It was on the 20th February, 1952 that Mr. Black first took his seat in this Council, so he has been with us for just over three years. Right from the start he made himself one of us; he became what I might term a Hong Kong boy. Also, right from the start, or at any rate in his very early days, it was obvious to me, and I believe it was obvious to many others, that here was a man who was going to be appointed a Governor sooner or later. The only question was how long would we be able to keep him. We were fortunate perhaps, or lucky perhaps, to be able to keep him for three years.

He is now going to Singapore as Governor. Not only do we congratulate him, as we have congratulated him, on his appointment, but I think we should also congratulate our sister Colony. You will, I am sure, agree with me,

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 155

gentlemen—because you know Mr. Black in his official capacity—what a capable and excellent Colonial Secretary he has been. We also all know how good he has been in his non-official activities. In the latter, he was assisted by his charming, very charming, wife who has endeared herself to everyone high and low, rich and poor, Chinese and non-Chinese.

With Mr. Black's departure we are losing a very able Colonial Secretary, and we here, at any rate, and also many others, are losing two good personal friends.

Mr. Black, I hope you will accept from me our good wishes for your happiness and success in the future, and may you one day come back to Hong Kong as its Governor. (Applause)

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY: —our Excellency, I thank you very much indeed for your kind words.