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that men and women who have their personal jobs to do will be able to devote as much time as is needed to the local administration. I recommended very strongly to the Government that this can only work if the Councillor is paid sufficiently to forgo his personal job during his 3 years term on the Council and on the Board. Most regretfully of all, there is apparently still to be no elected majority, so that the public will still go to the elections to elect what is in fact a permanent minority. Whatever promises the individual candidate may make, he cannot say 'If you elect me or if you elect my Party, we will make a reality of these promises'. We already have signs of dissatisfaction over the proposed bus fare increases. This is only an indica- tion of what may possibly happen if the younger generations are not given a real say in this their own local administration.

As this is the last speech I shall make at least for a considerable time, I would like to make my view known again about hawking generally in Hong Kong. I am utterly opposed to the present policy of the Council in separating the business of hawkers from welfare aspect. I know that in theory the Social Welfare Department has now reached a position where nobody dies of starvation or is in any other way too poor to survive at all in Hong Kong. Nevertheless apart from the fact that there are still pitiful cases, a man or a woman does not like to be dependent on social welfare. He would rather be given the opportunity of earning his own living. Also I believe that the natural inclination of the people of Hong Kong to turn to hawking in times of economic stress is a very good thing that should be encouraged. It provides a safety valve that would otherwise, perhaps in those times, lead again to demonstrations and even rioting. Again in my opinion, the aims of this Council as before us, only deal with restrictions on hawkers rather than the recognition of the rights of hawkers who have hawker licences issued by this Council and whom the Council should feel a duty to protect. In my opinion, I think the whole of the hawker policy needs to be reconsidered with these factors in mind.

Some of the aims that we pass every year are as old as the hills. For instance, the aims in environmental hygiene "To continue the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign'. Hong Kong is now getting dirtier than ever or hasn't anyone noticed? To press for construction of adequate off-street refuse collecting points', but where is the availability of land to allocate! "To press for the provisions of main water supply to all parts of the urban areas', has anything been done last year about that? Will anything be done this year? Again, cemeteries, To keep under review new legislation for the control of public and private cemeteries', what new legislation is there to keep under review?! Again food hygiene, 'To improve methods of the enforcement of the bylaws', are the bylaws being broken, and if so, what has this Select Committee in mind by that objective? Under food premises, "To raise the standard of hygiene by enforcing compliance with and keeping under review the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance', are people not complying with this Ordinance, if so why? And is there to be a review

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to the public health part of this Ordinance? Again under Liquor Licences, To streamline licensing procedures', in what way is it proposed to do that? At the moment, so far as I can see, when the control was in the separate licensing boards of magistrates and there was a dispute as to the facts, every- one was made to give evidence on oath as to facts that he knew, but nowa- days the Licensing Board of the Urban Council is too inclined to accept as true just hearsay facts from objectors. Then what about street traders, 'To seek a gradual reduction in street trading'? In the circumstances of Hong Kong at present that is impossible to achieve without just refusing to renew old licences or something like that. And so the aims go on and on, mostly the same year in and year out, and mostly quite impracticable to effect during the current year.

In my opinion, it would be very much better if the Government encouraged a system of parties in local administration where each clarified its positive aims in writing for the next triannual. Then, depending upon the election result, one party would be returned in power to try and make those aims into reality during their term of office.

Mr. Chairman, after being on the Urban Council ever since 1952 except for a couple of months on one occasion, now a long time ago, it is hard for me to say goodbye, I like better the Chinese expression 'A'. See you again. I hope in the future to come back with a majority that, no one can criticize, represents the public of Hong Kong. Further I hope that I shall come back to a very different Urban Council where the Elected and Appointed Members will once again work together to serve the people of Hong Kong. In the meantime, I will indeed endeavour still to serve the people of this great City-State through the organization of the Reform Club itself.

In view of my criticisms of the aims, I will abstain from voting. Mr. Chairman, 'A'.

(The Hon. F. K. HU left during Mr. BERNACCHI's address.)

MRS. E. ELLIOTT (in English):-I am afraid that my speech is going to be very short and not very sweet.

In addressing you as Chairman, it should be understood that I merely conform to convention, without implying that I consider you to have the right to monopolise this position on a Council which is supposed to give equality to appointed and elected members.

On this Council, there has been for the past eight years a diminishing measure of equality, until it has now reached the point when one must be prepared to sacrifice the right to chairmanships and vice-chairmanships of committees and sub-committees, as well as participation at major official functions, unless one toes the Chairman's political line and contributes to his prestige.

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