1964 — Page 212

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The Special Form 1 is considered by most parents as a "dead-end street" and it is not quite the same one as referred to by Mr. WATSON- from which their children can go no further; to me it is an unnecessary appendix in the Hong Kong educational anatomy. I honestly feel that this new system has placed Government in an awkward position because European children here begin schooling at 5 whereas Chinese children have to wait until 7. I have information in my possession that in spite of the great shortage of primary places, many Government and assisted schools have to admit into Primary 1, pupils well under the age of 7, just because there are too many vacancies in these classes. This should be enough to convince the authorities in the Department that their planning has not been as happy as they seem to think. The new system should be reviewed and amended as soon as possible, and I would like to urge Government to appoint without further delay a committee of educationalists conversant with local conditions to go into this matter thoroughly, and I believe that if this is done, a much better system can be devised without increasing the burden of the tax-payers.

Sir, you will appreciate that all my comments are not directed against personalities, much less the present Director of Education, and in all fairness to him I must say that he has assumed office for hardly a year.

When Government lotteries were first run some two years ago, it was announced that all proceeds from them would be utilized for social welfare work. No one can accuse Government of putting the money thus raised to other uses, but the fact that these proceeds have been absorbed into the general revenue of Government does give the impres- sion that they are not being used for the specific purpose for which they were intended, although I agree that this arrangement is a convenient method of accounting. May I suggest, Sir, that this source of revenue be set aside to finance worthwhile welfare projects put up by voluntary agencies and to assist victims of natural or other disasters. As things stand, many excellent projects proposed by voluntary agencies cannot be carried out simply because of a lack of Government subvention. One voluntary agency, in which I must declare an interest, has expended a sum of $40,000,000 in capital costs in Hong Kong, but has not received much assistance from Government in the form of social welfare sub- ventions.

As far as Social Welfare work is concerned, there is another matter which has puzzled me a great deal the allocation of flag days. The oldest and the most respected voluntary agency with a history of more than one hundred years, literally and not metaphorically, which was first to organize a flag day in Hong Kong, and of which many members are worthy citizens of the Colony, was denied a flag day this year. I can well imagine that there is a great demand for flag days every year, but

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I fail to understand why some agencies are lucky enough to have flag days every year while others should have them only once every two years. The people of Hong Kong are always willing and ready to help victims of disasters in other parts of the world, but may I suggest that as a matter of principle in connexion with flag days, funds raised locally should as far as possible be used locally.

The problem of juvenile delinquency has recently caused much con- cern in the local community, but it is not as serious as some would have us believe, although it will be foolish to ignore its existence. Many constructive suggestions have been put forward for its solution, but I think that the most practical one is for Government to have a programme for the building of community centres in various parts of the urban areas to provide useful activities for the under-privileged children.

As you know, Sir, the so-called unregistered boarding houses and dancing academies are the cause of numerous juvenile crimes, and I would like to urge Government to abolish these evil institutions altogether, or if this is not possible, to introduce legislation to put them under the strictest control. At present, a dancing academy with not more than eleven hostesses can operate without a licence, and this curious legislation has given rise to more than a hundred such "academies" in Hong Kong. As the police force is not able to raid these places regularly because it is understaffed, may I suggest that a special squad within the Police Department be established to combat this particular form of crime. May I also sound a little warning note that unless the salaries of police constables be reasonably increased, the Police Department will soon face the same problem as your Department is facing today-the difficulty of recruitment.

Before I conclude, Sir, may I say how happily we have been work- ing together in this Council under your able, benevolent and indulgent leadership. The afternoon teas we have had together and the coffee sessions during which Mr. WATSON and Mr. CHEONG-LEEN have dis- cussed many interesting problems and try to solve some of the minor or major decisions, and our informal social functions have all added to an atmosphere of harmony and comradeship although we might occasional- ly have found Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's supplementary questions rather persistent and a little trying.

With this happy note, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.

MR. J. L. MARDEN:-Mr. Chairman, a recently published book called "Two Cheers for the Town Hall" reminded me that my first introduction to local government affairs was many years ago when, in the company of my grandfather, I visited the Colchester Borough sewage