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their activities in the New Territories. In fact, and I would say quite rightly, the Urban Services Department in the New Territories follows the substance of the Select Committees' decisions in the exercise of their jurisdiction over the urban areas and it is a complete anachronism that the Urban Council should not have actual jurisdiction over the Urban Services Department's work in the New Territories.
In fact, persons living in the New Territories, who are entitled to vote, have a vote in the Urban Council elections and yet the Urban Council technically has no jurisdiction over the New Territories. Again, in fact, proportionately the New Territories voters turned out in greater numbers than even the voters in the urban areas and I have always urged on Government to have a movable polling station stopping at specific places in the New Territories at various times during polling day.
This again, of course, takes me into the need to enlarge the Council and I would say that the time has come to enlarge it by at least two more elected members.
I do not say anything about appointed members except that if the system of appointed members is to be retained, then the appointed members should represent important minority groups of persons rather than merely themselves on the Councils of the Colony (and I say Councils, not only this Council). My friend, Mr. SALES, for instance, in the absence of a ward system where he could stand for a ward in Kowloon and claim to represent Kowloon on the Urban Council, could represent the Portuguese community and we, the elected members, recommend that Government appoint a representative from the New Territories. The people of the New Territories are clearly entirely confused by the Urban Services Department going into the New Territories in force, and, of course, confuse the Urban Services Department with the Urban Council and think the Urban Services Department has gone into the New Territories as the agent of the Urban Council. Such, regretfully, is not at present the case and the sooner the Government rectify this, I say again anachronistically, the better for all concerned. His Excellency the Governor was specifically authorized to institute minor constitutional changes at the end of 1960, and constitutional changes at the Urban Council level as proposed in my address could not be against the policy of Her Majesty's Government in London.
Such a hard-headed man as the Financial Secretary is willing to release considerable sums of money to the Housing Authority to permit its terrific expansion in recent years and the Housing Authority is to all intents and purposes, the Urban Council. Therefore, I say that Government has confidence, as it should have confidence, in the capability of the Urban Council, and the Urban Services Department, as its very name denotes, is the instrument of the Urban Council. In fact, the Urban Council drafted completely the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance (assisted by Mr. BODILLY, the present Acting Solicitor General) and with a special drafting committee, chaired indeed by two unofficial members in succession, one elected and one appointed.
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Urban Services Ordinance (assisted by Mr. BODILLY, the present Acting Solicitor General) and with a special drafting committee, chairmaned indeed by two unofficial members in succession, one elected and one appointed. Mr. Chairman, I am glad that the Statement of Aims that you have tabled today contains this paragraph 33 and I speak for the Elected Members when I say that the enlargement of this Council's scope that I have just elaborated on will be one of our aims in the coming year. Another of our aims is to bring the educational and medical services under the Urban Council, but that will be explained by my colleagues later in today's hearing. I must say, however, that it has always been our wish (with all respect to the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services) to see the Director of Medical and Health Services on the Council, also the Director of Education, and the Commissioner of Police who should never have been permitted to leave this Council in, I think, 1952 under the excuse that his other duties were more demanding on his time. But as my friend Mr. SALES has intimated to me that he will be expressing the Appointed Unofficials' view at least on the appointment back of the Commissioner of Police, I will leave the floor to him in this matter.
I cannot let this Annual Speech Day go without again expressing my regrets as a member of the Museum and Art Gallery Sub-committee of the City Hall Committee at having no Museum yet on public display. I imagine my friend Mr. WATSON who is Chairman of this Sub-committee will have something more to say on the subject and I can only say that we are gradually purchasing exhibits for the Museum with the money voted to us, and I for one will be disappointed if, in this coming year, we cannot achieve the Aim set out in paragraph 30 of the Motion before Council, namely, to develop the Museum. I think that the Museum and Art Gallery and the Library Sub-Committees should be created separate committees as they deal almost entirely with different matters to the City Hall (Policy) Select Committee.
The last thing I have to address the Council on is the hawker and hawker control situation and I couple it for obvious reasons with the market situation, as I am Chairman of both the Hawkers and the Markets Select Committees. The Police have, for many years, completely ignored hawking save and except in main streets because they have, in their opinion, lots of other more important jobs on their books. Unfortunately, the Council through the Urban Services Department, have had insufficient staff to regulate hawking ourselves, and the net result is that the hawkers licensed as pedlars, have in fact in many cases erected pitches, larger than our authorized fixed pitches and installed themselves in certain streets for 24 hours a day. This, of course, has to do with the problem, inter alia, of housing and in some cases undoubtedly the pedlar hawkers use their illegal structures even to live in. Recently the police have reactivated themselves into taking action
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Page 124 of 194
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their activities in the New Territories. In fact, and I would say quite rightly, the Urban Services Department in the New Territories follows the substance of the Select Committees' decisions in the exercise of their jurisdiction over the urban areas and it is a complete anachronism that the Urban Council should not have actual jurisdiction over the Urban Services Department's work in the New Territories.
In fact, persons living in the New Territories, who are entitled to vote, have a vote in the Urban Council elections and yet the Urban Council technically has no jurisdiction over the New Territories. Again, in fact, proportionately the New Territories voters turned out in greater numbers than even the voters in the urban areas and I have always urged on Government to have a movable polling station stopping at specific places in the New Territories at various times during polling day.
This again, of course, takes me into the need to enlarge the Council and I would say that the time has come to enlarge it by at least two more elected members.
I do not say anything about appointed members except that if the system of appointed members is to be retained, then the appointed members should represent important minority groups of persons rather than merely themselves on the Councils of the Colony (and I say Councils, not only this Council). My friend, Mr. SALES, for instance, in the absence of a ward system where he could stand for a ward in Kowloon and claim to represent Kowloon on the Urban Coun- cil, could represent the Portuguese community and we, the elected members, recommend that Government appoint a representative from the New Territories. The people of the New Territories are clearly entirely confused by the Urban Services Department going into the New Territories in force, and, of course, confuse the Urban Services Depart- ment with the Urban Council and think the Urban Services Department has gone into the New Territories as the agent of the Urban Council. Such, regretfully, is not at present the case and the sooner the Govern- ment rectify this, I say again anachronistically, the better for all concerned. His Excellency the Governor was specifically authorized to institute minor constitutional changes at the end of 1960, and con- stitutional changes at the Urban Council level as proposed in my address could not be against the policy of Her Majesty's Government in London.
Such a hard headed man as the Financial Secretary is willing to release considerable sums of money to the Housing Authority to permit its terrific expansion in recent years and the Housing Authority is to all intents and purposes, the Urban Council. Therefore, I say that Government has confidence, as it should have confidence, in the capability of the Urban Council, and the Urban Services Department, as its very name denotes, is the instrument of the Urban Council. In fact, the Urban Council drafted completely the Public Health and
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
231
Urban Services Ordinance (assisted by Mr. BODILLY, the present Acting Solicitor General) and with a special drafting committee, chairmaned indeed by two unofficial members in succession, one elected and one appointed. Mr. Chairman, I am glad that the Statement of Aims that you have tabled today contains this paragraph 33 and I speak for the Elected Members when I say that the enlargement of this Council's scope that I have just elaborated on will be one of our aims in the coming year. Another of our aims is to bring the educational and medical services under the Urban Council, but that will be explained by my colleagues later in today's hearing. I must say, however, that it has always been our wish (with all respect to the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services) to see the Director of Medical and Health Services on the Council, also the Director of Education, and the Com- missioner of Police who should never have been permitted to leave this Council in, I think, 1952 under the excuse that his other duties were more demanding on his time. But as my friend Mr. SALES has intimated to me that he will be expressing the Appointed Unofficials' view at least on the appointment back of the Commissioner of Police, I will leave the floor to him in this matter.
I cannot let this Annual Speech Day go without again expressing my regrets as a member of the Museum and Art Gallery Sub-committee of the City Hall Committee at having no Museum yet on public display. I imagine my friend Mr. WATSON who is Chairman of this Sub- committee will have something more to say on the subject and I can only say that we are gradually purchasing exhibits for the Museum with the money voted to us, and I for one will be disappointed if, in this coming year, we cannot achieve the Aim set out in paragraph 30 of the Motion before Council, namely, to develop the Museum. I think that the Museum and Art Gallery and the Library Sub-Committees should be created separate committees as they deal almost entirely with different matters to the City Hall (Policy) Select Committee.
The last thing I have to address the Council on is the hawker and hawker control situation and I couple it for obvious reasons with the market situation, as I am Chairman of both the Hawkers and the Markets Select Committees. The Police have, for many years, com- pletely ignored hawking save and except in main streets because they have, in their opinion, lots of other more important jobs on their books. Unfortunately, the Council through the Urban Services Department, have had insufficient staff to regulate hawking ourselves, and the net result is that the hawkers licensed as pedlars, have in fact in many cases erected pitches, larger than our authorized fixed pitches and installed themselves in certain streets for 24 hours a day. This, of course, has to do with the problem, inter alia, of housing and in some cases undoubtedly the pedlar hawkers use their illegal structures even to live in. Recently the police have reactivated themselves into taking action
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