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DR. BELL:-Another supplementary question, Mr. Chairman. Would you tell us approximately when the new Abattoirs will be built?
CHAIRMAN:-As far as we can now see, Dr. BELL, it is the middle of 1963.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I have a supplementary, Mr. Chairman. You say in reply No. 1 that pig business here is big business--does that mean that big business is pig business? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Another supplementary, Mr. Chairman. answer 4, last sentence-Any more (Inspectors, I presume) would merely be in the way: Is my assumption correct that if there should be more Inspectors at the Slaughterhouses that would make it more difficult for poor butchers to carry away a few more catties of meat at and around festival time than they really should?
CHAIRMAN:-I doubt it.
MOTIONS.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution:
"RESOLVED that the Conservancy (Amendment) By-laws, 1960, be made under Section 29 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960."
He said: There is nothing which I can usefully add to the Explanatory Note at the end of these By-laws. I therefore beg to move.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution:
"RESOLVED that the Declaration of Offensive Trades within the Urban Areas of the Colony be made under Section 48 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960."
He said: The trades now to be declared offensive are a repetition of the trades previously declared under the repealed Public Health (Sanitation) Ordinance, 1935. I beg to move.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
DR. R. H. S. LEE:-Mr. Chairman, in a congested city like Hong Kong, the need for a declaration of offensive trades is not only timely but is a very necessary one, because life in the urban area is difficult enough, as it is, without the addition of foul smell which is the usual
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concomitant of these occupations. The periodic public complaint which comes to the attention of this Council is proof enough of this point. It should not be allowed in a city, because Hong Kong is not only an important port, but also a favourite tourist stop.
Mr. Chairman, the Offensive Trades Select Committee have given this matter considerable thought from complaints made by residents living in offensive trade areas, particularly those from Kennedy Town. In fact, they have gone one stage further than you have, Mr. Chairman, and have recommended to the Government the urgent need to allocate a suitable area in the New Territories to resettle these trades. I cannot agree with them more in this respect, because if we are to remove the source of smell and nuisances from the urban area, we must pay due regard to the livelihood of the people whose trade is going to be affected. Because of its size, land is a precious commodity in Hong Kong. There is no doubt that the presence of offensive trades in Kennedy Town and To Kwa Wan has the effect of discouraging investors in developing these areas.
Mr. Chairman, in your list of 34 offensive trades, I am surprised that you have included the roasting of pigs as an offensive one. Am I right in assuming, Sir, that you have not read that delectable essay of Charles Lamb on the roasting of pigs? If you have, you would not have classified this as offensive. Of course, in your motion, Sir, you have in your mind the unlicensed operator rather than the licensee of a food factory. With things as they are at present, it is unlikely to find any person who is not a trader, roasting pigs, and I am sure that there will not be any general hardship if it is included in your list.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I have much pleasure in supporting the motion before us.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution:
"RESOLVED that the Pleasure Grounds listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960 continue to be used for the purposes for which they are at present used."
He said:
The effect of this resolution will be to maintain the status quo of the existing pleasure grounds listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
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DR. BELL:-Another supplementary question, Mr. Chairman. Would you tell us approximately when the new Abattoirs will be built?
CHAIRMAN: -As far as we can now see, Dr. BELL, it is the middle of 1963.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I have a supplementary, Mr. Chairman. You say in reply No. 1 that pig business here is big business--does that mean that big business is pig business? (Laughter).
In
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Another supplementary, Mr. Chairman. answer 4, last sentence-Any more (Inspectors, I presume) would merely be in the way: Is my assumption correct that if there should be more Inspectors at the Slaughterhouses that would make it more difficult for poor butchers to carry away a few more catties of meat at and around festival time than they really should?
CHAIRMAN: -I doubt it.
MOTIONS.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution :·
"RESOLVED that the Conservancy (Amendment) By-laws, 1960, be made under Section 29 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960.”
He said: There is nothing which I can usefully add to the Explanatory Note at the end of these By-laws. I therefore beg to move.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution :·
"RESOLVED that the Declaration of Offensive Trades within the Urban Areas of the Colony be made under Section 48 of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, No. 30 of 1960.”
He said: The trades now to be declared offensive are a repetition of the trades previously declared under the repealed Public Health (Sanitation) Ordinance, 1935. I beg to move.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
DR. R. H. S. LEE:-Mr. Chairman, in a congested city like Hong Kong, the need for a declaration of offensive trades is not only timely but is a very necessary one, because life in the urban area is difficult enough, as it is, without the addition of foul smell which is the usual
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
139
concomitant of these occupations. The periodic public complaint which comes to the attention of this Council is proof enough of this point. It should not be allowed in a city, because Hong Kong is not only an important port, but also a favourite tourist stop.
Mr. Chairman, the Offensive Trades Select Committee have given this matter considerable thought from complaints made by residents living in offensive trade areas, particularly those from Kennedy Town. In fact, they have gone one stage further than you have, Mr. Chairman, and have recommended to the Government the urgent need to allocate a suitable area in the New Territories to resettle these trades. I cannot agree with them more in this respect, because if we are to remove the source of smell and nuisances from the urban area, we must pay due regard to the livelihood of the people whose trade is going to be affected. Because of its size, land is a precious commodity in Hong Kong. There is no doubt that the presence of offensive trades in Kennedy Town and To Kwa Wan has the effect of discouraging investors in developing these areas.
Mr. Chairman, in your list of 34 offensive trades, I am surprised that you have included the roasting of pigs as an offensive one. Am I right in assuming, Sir, that you have not read that delectable essay of Charles Lamb on the roasting of pigs? If you have, you would not have classified this as offensive. Of course, in your motion, Sir, you have in your mind the unlicensed operator rather than the licensee of a food factory. With things as they are at present, it is unlikely to find any person who is not a trader, roasting pigs, and I am sure that there will not be any general hardship if it is included in your list.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I have much pleasure in supporting the motion before us.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
THE CHAIRMAN moved the following resolution:
"RESOLVED that the Pleasure Grounds listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordin- ance, No. 30 of 1960 continue to be used for the purposes for which they are at present used."
He said:
The effect of this resolution will be to maintain the status quo of the existing pleasure grounds listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance.
THE VICE-CHAIRMAN seconded.
The question was put and agreed to.
The Motion was carried.
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