Sessional_Paper_1909 — Page 153

No. 1909

8

HONGKONG.

MEMORANDUM ON THE LICENSING OF PUBLIC HOUSES IN HONGKONG.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, December 2nd, 1909.

In 1904 Government took into consideration a suggestion for improving the Public Houses of the Colony by introducing the Gothenburg System.

In March, 1905, a Committee was appointed by Sir M. NATHAN to consider the feasibi- lity of forming a Syndicate to establish, as an experiment, one Public House on this system.

The system is briefly that Public House Licences should be transferred to a Company, the shareholders in which should derive no profit from the sale of intoxicating liquors beyond a fixed percentage on the capital invested, while the actual Managers of the Public Houses should be salaried persons having no share in the profit on the sale of intoxicating liquors. The Committee set out the object of the suggested Syndicate and the manner in which the Public House should be managed by it as follows:-

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It is proposed to form a Company to institute a Public House in Victoria which shall be managed on the principles adopted by the recently established Public House Trust Associations in England.

The object is to promote the higher temperance by the conversion of the public house from a drinking bar into a house of refreshment for the supply of wholesome food and non-alcoholic liquors as well as of beer and spirits.

The leading principle will be the elimination of the element of personal profit from the sale of alcoholic liquors. Accordingly the dividend payable on the Capital subscribed will be limited to 8% per annum. Shareholders will thus have a limited monetary interest in the trade. All surplus profits will be applied to furthering the object of the Company by extending its sphere of action.

It is proposed to begin with one house only. It will be conducted as a refreshment house rather than as a mere drinking bar; food as well as non-intoxicating drinks including tea, coffee, and cocoa will be as readily served to Customers as beer or spirits; and the food and drink supplied will be of the best quality obtainable.

The Manager will be paid a fixed salary. He will have no interest whatever in the profits arising from the sale of intoxicants, and will in consequence be under no inducement to push this part of the trade. On the other hand he will be encouraged to promote the sale of food and non-intoxicants."

Under date of the 20th April, 1905, they reported as follows:-

*

"We subunit an estimate of the working for first year of a public house on the Gothen- burg system.

The estimate of receipts may perhaps be somewhat low on the other hand the expen- diture will certainly not be less. The estimate is based on information of the working ex- penses of certain public houses in the Colony, and it must be remembered that when a man is working for himself he will manage more economically than when he is working as the paid servant of another.

We have therefore been forced to the conclusion that, without support in subscriptions and donations from the public, and in competition with ordinary Public Houses, the Goth- enburg house would not pay.

* Not printed.