Sessional_Paper_1938 — Page 201

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(d) Supplies to building contractors and shipping to be charged for at $1 per

thousand gallons as at present.

(e) Meter rentals as at present.

NOTES.

(i) Supplies to Government buildings would not be charged for but in order to prevent waste each separate office should be given a fixed allowance which should not be exceeded without authority.

(ii) On the abolition of the free allowances Government Officers occupying Governinent quarters should pay for water consumed like other con- sumers, except in such cases as police and medical staff occupying quarters in hospitals.

(iii) Military, Naval and Air Force supplies should be at the ordinary rates subject to the continuance of a privileged rate of 10 cents per thou-

sand gallons in respect of certain Military Cantonments in Victoria under a long standing agreement.

An estimate of probable income for 1938 on this basis is attached. (Appendix II).

11. Appendix II shows approximately what revenue would have been obtained in 1937 on the above basis. It will be seen that the net total of $2.156,607 is slightly more than was actually received in that year ($2,084,476) but less than the amount of $2,306,621 required to meet charges properly attributable to the Water Department. It is anticipated that consumption will be greater in 1938 as it is hoped that an unrestricted supply can be maintained; and that revenue in that year will therefore be adequate to cover charges.

12. In theory, the system of charge best suited to the special circumstances of Hong Kong, where we want to supply the essential minimum of water but severely to discourage excessive use, would be one in which all water in excess of a minimum domestic supply was charged at a much higher rate. There are very great practical difficulties in assessing a minimum domestic supply for Chinese tenements, the rating valuation being useless as a guide; but the possibility of eventually establishing such a basis of charge might be further examined after the new Water Department is established.

IV. Separate Metering of Floors.

13. The main object of this proposal is to secure closer control of the con- sumption of water by enabling the responsibility to be placed on the " principal tenant" of each floor in Chinese tenement houses instead of the landlord. The former is in a better position to prevent waste and it is unfair that landlords should have to pay with no effective means of controlling what their tenants use. It is proposed that separate meters should be installed on the request of landlords or in other cases where the Water Authority thinks it necessary. If made on the landlord's request he should pay the cost of installation.

14. It is not essential to separate metering that the water charges should be actually paid by the tenant instead of the landlord but it is an obvious further step to prevent waste. Where separate meters are installed therefore the charge should in future be on the tenant, but landlords should be required to make any necessary deposits if tenants failed to do so.

15. The change ought not, however, to be used to secure a monetary benefit to the landlord. In the main the adjustment between landlord and tenant must be left to ordinary economic forces but I would recommend that in announcing the change of incidence of charge. Government should make it clear that landlords