1963 — Page 117

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, may I respectfully rise again following on the questions that have been asked as supplementaries. Section 54 of the Urban Council Ordinance reads: "The duties of the Council shall be to exercise control within the area allotted to it over all matters in respect of which powers are given to it by this Ordinance or any other Ordinance.” Am I right in saying that the Governor or the Governor in Executive Council allocates the areas that the Urban Council exercises control over?

CHAIRMAN: I believe that is the case.

MR. BERNACCHI: So that it would only be necessary for the Governor or the Governor in Executive Council to allocate control over the Department's duties including cleansing, supervision and cleansing of markets and hawker areas, control of public latrines and bathhouses, cemeteries, burials, public parks, playgrounds, and beaches to the Urban Council for it automatically to have control over them?

CHAIRMAN: -I believe so.

MR. BERNACCHI:-Again, am I right in thinking that it would be only a matter of executive act for the Urban Council to be given con- trol over resettlement in the New Territories?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, the Com- petent Authorities are made by the Governor in Council.

MR. BERNACCHI:-Thank you very much.

MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, with Mr. BERNACCHI's permission, would you pursue this matter, having regard to the opinion of some Members of this Council that it is organizationally unsatisfactory for this arrangement to continue? That at least in my view, which you may represent, this is anachronistic and we suggest, if Government prefers, that this matter be discussed in Standing Committee of the Whole Council,

TRIBUTE TO MR. C. G. M. MORRISON.

CHAIRMAN:-That concludes the items on the formal agenda, but there is one other matter to which I must refer before we close. This is the last meeting of the Council which Mr. Colin MORRISON, the Commissioner for Resettlement, will attend. He is leaving Hong Kong next month on retirement after 24 years' service in the Hong Kong Government.

Mr. MORRISON has served in a wide variety of posts. He was Chairman of this Council for two and a half years and he has also served on the Council for three and a half years as acting head of the

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Social Welfare Department and more recently as Commissioner for Resettlement. His service has been distinguished by a constant regard for the reputation of the Council, by a wide and continuing interest in the whole sphere of the Council's activities, and by the warmth and steadiness of the friendships which he has established with Council Members. His courtesy and co-operation throughout the six years of his association with us have been of considerable assistance in the execu- tion of the Council's affairs.

I am sure that all Members will wish to join me in thanking Mr. MORRISON sincerely for his valuable services and wishing him and his wife and family happiness and prosperity in the future. (Applause).

MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN:—Mr. Chairman, you have shortened my speech considerably by enumerating Mr. MORRISON's sterling qualities and his long service in Hong Kong. On behalf of the Elected Members, I would like to say a few words of farewell to Mr. MORRISON. I say it with regret, because during the years that he has been on this Council, first as Chairman and subsequently as Commissioner for Resettlement, I have found that there is a strong streak of humanitarianism in him. I must have sent him at least 200 to 300 questions and queries, either in Urban Council meetings or by letters, and I can think of no single in- stance where he did not give his personal attention to the replies he sent me. And I think he must have done that for every other Member in this Council. For that reason, I am sure we all regret very much that he is going to leave the Colony. It is a privilege for me on behalf of the Elected Members to say these few words of farewell. He is a good friend of ours and I do hope that after you leave, Colin, one of these days you might be lured back by the exotic and charming people of Hong Kong (Laughter) and when you do come back you can rest assured that you will be amongst friends. (Applause).

MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, it was not intended that Mr. CHEONG- LEEN and I would once again behave as Box and Cox upon the departure of Mr. MORRISON. However, I endorse on behalf of the Appointed Members all you have said about Mr. MORRISON and I even risk doing so about everything that Mr. CHEONG-LEEN too has said. I have always found Mr. MORRISON courteous and sincere in his dealings with Members of this Council. He has attended to all my requests with tremendous despatch. He has latterly headed a department which is not an easy one. In the last few months it must have been the most difficult department in the Hong Kong Government. The circumstances are not of his own making. The circumstances are particularly trying when he comes to this Council. I wish Mr. MORRISON a great number of years of happy retirement, good gardening, even more walking and perhaps plenty of squash. (Laughter) (Applause),