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the broad sense of (I quote) "helping to alleviate or prevent the causes of dependency" and doing "everything possible to enable (destitutes) to fit themselves for, and to find and retain, suitable employment"; as well as relief of destitution itself. The next section says (I quote again) "Welfare services generally should be aimed at helping those who are dependent on others to acquire or recover ability to stand on their own feet and to contribute to their own support". It seems to me that voluntary welfare agencies, as well as the Department, have had increas- ing success in the last few years in precisely this direction. Relief is often necessary but is more and more regarded as an immediate stop- gap to keep a family going, until some more constructive and more permanent measures can be devised by the social worker responsible.

I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that what I have just said is in harmony with Mrs. Li's statement "Social work in Hong Kong is fast becoming highly professional, depending on more and more trained personnel", which I greatly welcome. No less welcome is her emphasis upon Government responsibility for increasing support of voluntary agencies and for (I quote) "constructive, far-sighted and even preventive pro- grammes" as well as for training social workers already in service. On the last aspect, I might mention that the In-service Training Unit in the Department has trained some 130 workers a year in the last two years, nearly all for the voluntary agencies, and I hope we shall be able to step up this service in the future.

Mr. CHEUNG Wing-in spoke about the need for some measure of population control, if the living standards of our people are to be improved; he said that this function of Government is in his opinion as urgent and important as any other positive form of social services and complained that no mention of it was made in the White Paper. It is true, Sir, that there is no reference to this, or to other, specific services in the document. But I would heartily agree with Mr. CHEUNG as to the great importance of this matter; indeed I would personally regard counselling on family planning as one of the most important functions of the social worker engaged in family casework. Informa- tion on the services available is indeed provided by my case workers and in departmental centres. As to the attitude of the Government, the Colonial Secretary referred, in the last Budget Debate to a proposed increase in subvention to the Family Planning Association from $250,000 to $400,000, which was approved, and undertook that the Government would continue to assist the Association.

You will not be surprised, Mr. Chairman, if I feel bound to join issue with a remark made by Mrs. ELLIOTT, to the effect that the Social Welfare Department (I quote) "is almost founded on gambling, sweeps and lotteries". My friend the Secretary for Chinese Affairs founded the Department as Social Welfare Officer in 1948 and he tells me that he does not remember laying the foundation described. (Laughter).

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In any event, I venture to think, Sir, that our subsequent growth pro- vides evidence of much more substantial roots than those suggested by Mrs. ELLIOTT.

Mr. Li Yiu-bor said that he was puzzled about the allocation of flag days. This is one of the matters on which the Social Welfare Advisory Committee is specifically charged by its terms of reference to advise the Government. In recent years a number of new voluntary agencies have been formed in Hong Kong in response to the challenge posed by our multifarious social needs; the Advisory Committee con- sidered that some at least of these should be given the opportunity of appealing to the public periodically by means of a flag day and accord- ingly, in 1960, notified all the organizations which were then on the list that they could not necessarily expect to be recommended for a flag day every year in the future. I might add that this annual respon- sibility of the Advisory Committee is no light one: for a maximum of 14 flag days a year there were 17 applicants for this year and 22 for next year. The Committee does its best to weigh the claims and merits of all the agencies which apply, before offering the Government its advice; but those which are unsuccessful inevitably include, each year, a number of well-established and valuable organizations.

With these remarks, Sir, I am glad to support the Motion before Council.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-Mr. Chairman, several Members spoke about roads, traffic and public transport. This is not surprising for it is a subject that affects us all. The roads suffered greatly as a result of the typhoons last summer; wonders were worked in the rapid clearance of landslides, fallen trees and other blockages, but it has been difficult to catch up on the resultant deterioration of many road surfaces. However, the criticisms which I have to answer refer to planning and new construction rather than to road maintenance.

Mrs. Ellen Li spoke about the road pattern at Causeway Bay and North Point and referred to future communications between North Point and West Point. Plans are complete for a fast traffic route from Morrison Street near the Western Market to North Point, and the first section, namely Harcourt Road, has been completed. This will be extended to Victoria Park by means of the Wan Chai reclamation and a reclamation on the fringe of Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter. East of Victoria Park the route continues via Electric Road to King's Road, but it is also planned to extend Tin Hau Temple Road to Chai Wan Road thus enabling through traffic to avoid King's Road. The con- nexion between this new Waterfront Road and Tin Hau Temple Road