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for the tangible present in consequence. Much frustration is caused when such programmes are shelved while civil servants shift from desk to desk or go away on protracted holidays. Time-consuming delays in the execution of plans of public benefit make thinking members of the public wonder whether the heavy cost of the public service is producing the results that can be expected within reason. Inevitably comparisons are made with performance in the private sector where competition is fierce and there is no sheltered employment.

Mr. Chairman, just because we tell the Government what we sincerely believe to be good for Hong Kong, which may not always accord with what the Government itself thinks, should not cause the Council to be played down and treated more like a thorn in Government's side than an active partner in the business of governing for the good of the people here. Of course, Sir, there are shortcomings in the Council's operations; for sure, the will on our part to overcome them is not lacking; still, there must be the means to do so; and, in our society, only the Government has the means and the power. But, Mr. Chairman, has the Government got the will and the courage to act decisively for the good of the common man? I so move. (Applause).

MR. B. A. BERNACCHI :- Mr. Chairman, it gives me pleasure to second the adoption of the Statement of Aims for 1971. In so doing I would like to comment on certain of the aims which I consider to be amongst those most basic and vital. The first is staff. Whilst we do not have our own staff or our own finances we are nevertheless blamed for the filthy condition of the streets, the lack of adequate control of hawking and the comparatively poor showing in respect to flowers and flowering shrubs this year throughout the urban areas of Hong Kong. I am pleased of course to see Item No. 4 on "Recreation and Amenities" is to improve and augment the staff. In so doing, I hope that due consideration will be given to employing technical people with an adequate know-how to get a mass of flowers and flowering shrubs permanent throughout the city. Also we must not scream for more powers and forget that the control of the sanitation of a city of over 4 million people is already in our hands. I am frankly ashamed of the state of the streets these days. Only this year I spent a day in Singapore and the thing that surprised me most was comparison of our streets with their streets. There is no comparison, their streets are clean and our streets are dirty. These "Keep Your City Clean" campaigns and “Miss Ping On" campaigns have been going on for far too long. People are not interested in them any more.

I suggest something new. But basically have we enough labourers to keep our city clean? Are they doing their job properly? Or, is the public at fault? In passing could I put it in another appeal for the Urban Council (through the Urban Services Department) to go into multi-storey buildings. Most of them are a completely dirty mess.

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As regards hawking, let us get on with a new hawking policy. It is almost as stale as the old policy, which in my opinion was equally good, and never got on its feet. And why? Because it had to be approved by so many departments. This Government is completely tied up in red tape, which stretches all through the Urban Services Department and the Resettlement Department. Even the Social Welfare Department, with which we have a lot to do and on whose advice we must rely is cursed with a lot of red tape minded officials. I used to be proud of resettlement, after all the Urban Council started resettlement and now resettles 1.3 million people. But the appalling overcrowding in some of our older estates, the failure to control the streets of resettlement estates so that illegal hawking is everywhere, and the lack of housing experience in some of, even the senior officers of the Resettlement Department, have by and large given the Department a bad name. I am Chairman of the Resettlement Policy Select Committee, and yet, even I, have to ask, ask and to ask to have things put on the agenda. Very often excuse after excuse is given as to why these items have not been so put! Also individual appeals to the Urban Council, are still taking far too long to come through, far too long, and every new Commissioner for Resettlement takes a different view as to the relationship of his Department and the Urban Council in practice. I advocate one Department of Housing under the Urban Council with trained staff qualified in housing management, one common list of priority for housing and one standard of housing applicable to the aged and the young from 100 years to one day alike.

Coming to the Museum and Art Gallery, nearly 10 years have elapsed since the Urban Council put up its proposal for a proper museum. Now we are supposed to support the aim of a new museum at the corner of the City Hall site. It is not really a good idea, especially as if we are told the Memorial Garden is sacrosanct. Our Museum must be built outside the City Hall compound on stilts over the pavement instead of at least being partly in the compound and built in the normal way. But anything is better than nothing at all. That is why, very grudgingly, I do support the new museum, although it will take away from the artistic value of the City Hall itself. I am quite convinced that if we do not have the museum where the Government says it is to be, then we shall have to wait for another 10 or 20 years before another site is offered!

As regards hygiene, I think we are very lucky not to have an outbreak of a severe contagious disease. If one restaurateur wants to get things done legally he has to wait for months and months and months. In this time about 10 new restaurants have started functioning quite illegally and we just have not the men on the ground to prevent it. Our city is full of rats now, and the general state of cleanness of the buildings is visibly deteriorating. Not the people's fault, but they

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