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compulsorily re-sited and not in effect to tolerate the illegal hawkers that have at present come into the gaps. I can assure you that it is very prevalent and I have myself sent photographs to the Chairman illustrating what I mean.
(The Director of Social Welfare left at this point.)
The question was put. The motion was lost with 12 votes against, 4 for and 3 abstentions.
(3) MR. B. A. BERNACCHI moved the following motion:
"That a separate Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee should be constituted with the terms of reference of the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee of the last year."
He said: In my submission, it is a disgrace to the whole Museum concept, which some of us on the Urban Council have been working towards for years now, that our Museum business is dealt with as one limb of the numerous duties of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee. I, who incidentally, have been the only member present to-day that was on the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee from its creation until its abolition have deliberately and reluctantly withdrawn from Museum affairs partly as a protest about this particular decision. I remember, a few years ago, that the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee had a large number of sub-committees going into every aspect of what Hong Kong needs for a proper museum. These sub-committees mainly comprised outside people interested in the different facets of the Museum but not members of the Urban Council. They produced very full report which has been generally adopted by this Council and by the Government. The need for a Museum is finally recognized by the Government and as far as I have been informed, a site has now been allocated in Kowloon to build a museum when the Railway terminus moves to Hung Hom. In the meanwhile, there is much work to be done on collecting the exhibits, which is in itself a life-time's work, and, although I am not on the Cultural Affairs Select Committee, almost as a protest, I have information that the majority or perhaps a large number of the items on the agenda of the work of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee is, in fact, Museum and Art Gallery work. This work should be completely separated from the running of the City Hall or anything like that. The Museum happens, at present, to be on the two top floors of the High Block of the City Hall. But it is certainly an insult to all the people who have given up their time to sit on sub-committees of the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee that, now a proper Museum has been promised by Government, the Museum and Art Gallery Affairs are relegated to but one of the matters dealt with by a Committee whose main interest surely is in charge of the running of the City Hall.
I submit that the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee, of all committees, is a committee to be confined to members who take a real interest in assembling the exhibits for a large Museum and Art Gallery and to register and underline my protest, I am using the first available opportunity to move that this Committee be re-constituted, as it was for many years in the past.
I would then be very happy to rejoin it.
MISS C. YEUNG:- Mr. Chairman, I rise to support Mr. BERNACCHI'S motion. Although comparatively new on this Council, I also was surprised, when, at the beginning of this year, the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee was abolished, and its work put under the Cultural Affairs Select Committee, who are mainly in charge of the management of the City Hall. The Museum should not be a mere adjunct to the City Hall, and certainly, should have very much too much work to be a mere adjunct to the Cultural Affairs Select Committee. Mr. BERNACCHI has spoken of the Museum Report, which was before my time. But we do have advisors on all the aspects of the Museum and Art Gallery, and I consider it also an insult to them, to be advisors to a mere limb of the work of another Select Committee. There should be far too much work to do, and in my opinion, by incorporating it to another Select Committee's work, the nett result is that, not enough attention will be given or is being given, to this important aspect of this City Council.
MR. LO TAK-SHING:- Mr. Chairman, there are only three points I want to make and I oppose the motion. The first point is a simple one. The present Cultural Affairs Select Committee was only started earlier this year, and I really think members of Council should not change their minds quite so quickly as this. The second one is that since, as Mr. BERNACCHI himself says, most of the work of the Committee relates to the Museum the Committee obviously has not been neglecting the Museum in any way.
The third point relates to the sensibilities of certain people who apparently are hurt by the present arrangements. I do not know who they are or why they are hurt. Is Mr. BERNACCHI suggesting that we should assuage their bruised pride by removing the Museum and its problems from the jurisdiction of the Urban Council and by establishing an independent body? As you know, Mr. Chairman, the problems of the Museum do form part of the work of the Council.
MR. HU:- Mr. Chairman, may I support the motion? I have been on the Council for seven or eight years. The Museum has always
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Museum has been promised by Government, the Museum and Art Gallery Affairs are relegated to but one of the matters dealt with by a Committee whose main interest surely is in charge of the running of the City Hall.
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compulsorily re-sited and not in effect to tolerate the illegal hawkers that have at present come into the gaps. I can assure you that it is very prevalent and I have myself sent photographs to the Chairman illustrating what I mean.
(The Director of Social Welfare left at this point.)
The question was put. The motion was lost with 12 votes against, 4 for and 3 abstentions.
(3) MR. B. A. BERNACCHI moved the following motion:
"That a separate Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee should be constituted with the terms of reference of the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee of the last year."
He said: In my submission, it is a disgrace to the whole Museum concept, which some of us on the Urban Council have been working towards for years now, that our Museum business is dealt with as one limb of the numerous duties of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee. I, who incidentally, have been the only member present to-day that was on the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee from its creation until its abolition have deliberately and reluctantly withdrawn from Museum affairs partly as a protest about this particular decision. I remember, a few years ago, that the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee had a large number of sub-committees going into every aspect of what Hong Kong needs for a proper museum. These sub-committees mainly comprised outside people interested in the different facets of the Museum but not members of the Urban Council. They produced very full report which has been generally adopted by this Council and by the Govern- ment. The need for a Museum is finally recognized by the Government and as far as I have been informed, a site has now been allocated in in Kowloon to build a museum when the Railway terminus moves to Hung Hom. In the meanwhile, there is much work to be done on collecting the exhibits, which is in itself a life-times work, and, although I am not on the Cultural Affairs Select Committee, almost as a protest, I have information that the majority or perhaps a large number of the items on the agenda of the work of the Cultural Affairs Select Com- mittee is, in fact, Museum and Art Gallery work. This work should be completely separated from the running of the City Hall or anything like that. The Museum happens, at present, to be on the two top floors of the High Block of the City Hall. But it is certainly an insult to all the people who have given up their time to sit on sub-committees of the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee that, now a proper
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
175
Museum has been promised by Government, the Museum and Art Gallery Affairs are relegated to but one of the matters dealt with by a Committee whose main interest surely is in charge of the running of the City Hall.
I submit that the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee, of all committees, is a committee to be confined to members who take a real interest in assembling the exhibits for a large Museum and Art Gallery and to register and underline my protest, I am using the first available opportunity to move that this Committee be re-constituted, as it was for many years in the past.
I would then be very happy to rejoin it.
MISS C. YEUNG:-Mr. Chairman, I rise to support Mr. BERNACCHI'S motion. Although comparatively new on this Council, I also was surprised, when, at the beginning of this year, the Museum and Art Gallery Select Committee was abolished, and its work put under the Cultural Affairs Select Committee, who are mainly in charge of the management of the City Hall. The Museum should not be a mere adjunct to the City Hall, and certainly, should have very much too much work to be a mere adjunct to the Cultural Affairs Select Com- mittee. Mr. BERNACCHI has spoken of the Museum Report, which was before my time. But we do have advisors on all the aspects of the Museum and Art Gallery, and I consider it also an insult to them, to be advisors to a mere limb of the work of another Select Committee. There should be far too much work to do, and in my opinion, by incorporating it to another Select Committee's work, the nett result is that, not enough attention will be given or is being given, to this important aspect of this City Council.
MR. LO TAK-SHING:-Mr. Chairman, there are only three points I want to make and I oppose the motion. The first point is a simple one. The present Cultural Affairs Select Committee was only started earlier this year, and I really think members of Council should not change their minds quite so quickly as this. The second one is that since, as Mr. BERNACCHI himself says, most of the work of the Committee relates to the Museum the Committee obviously has not been neglecting the Museum in any way.
The third point relates to the sensibilities of certain people who apparently are hurt by the present arrangements. I do not know who they are or why they are hurt. Is Mr. BERNACCHI suggesting that we should assuage their bruised pride by removing the Museum and its problems from the jurisdiction of the Urban Council and by establishing an independent body? As you know, Mr. Chairman, the problems of the Museum do form part of the work of the Council.
MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I support the motion? I have been on the Council for seven or eight years. The Museum has always
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