Sessional_Paper_1947 — Page 21

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cation as set out in the appropriate portions of section 194(5) and (6) of the Municipal Ordinance of the (former) Straits Settlements be in- corporated into the Hong Kong Hawkers Ordinance. The Police would thus obtain certain limited powers of disposal subject to the directions of a Police Court. We would go even further and suggest that in no case should the seized goods of an offending hawker be returned to him; but that the goods should be sold or otherwise disposed of by direction of the Court which could at its discretion order the return of part or all of the proceeds of sale to the offender. In the case of abandoned goods they should only be recovered on the order of a magistrate, who would have powers to order the sale thereof and to return part or all of the proceeds to the claimant. The relevant sections of the (former) Straits Settlements Ordinance are annexed as Annexure II to this report.

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licence.

We recommend that no transfer of any hawker's or pedlar's Transfer of licence should be permitted.

45.

We recommend that the time between which hawkers may carry on business should be limited to the period between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. instead of between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m. as at present.

46. A list of amendments which we recommend to the hawkers by-laws following these lines is annexed to this report as Annexure III.

47.

XI.-DEPORTATION.

It seems to us that it would be a salutary measure to rid the Colony of persistent offenders against our hawking laws, who do not belong to Hong Kong, if provision were made for the automatic deport- ation of a person convicted of a hawking offence who has four previous convictions for similar offences. We suggest that when a hawker is convicted of an offence a record of the conviction be endorsed on his licence to enable this measure to be put into effect.

XII. MEDICAL EXAMINATION.

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We recommend that food hawkers should be subject to any medical regulations that may hereafter be imposed on other handlers of food in industrial concerns or restaurants. Eventually it is hoped that all workers who handle food will be subject to periodical medical examination.

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XIII. PUBLICITY.

We recommend that the Police Department and Urban Council should give the greatest possible publicity to any of the measures which we advocate and which it is decided to adopt, before putting them into effect, and that the reasons for any course of action decided upon should be fully explained to the public especially those who will be immediately affected.

Times of business.

E. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

50. Our main recommendations above may be very briefly sum- marised as follows:-

(1) As the ideal long-term policy the gradual abolition of hawking. (2) For short-term policy in present circumstances:-

(a) The establishment of hawkers markets in certain streets and available open spaces in Hong Kong and Kowloon to accom- modate about 10,000-15,000 hawkers.