428
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL.
Council was held on the 27th instant in the A meeting of the Hongkong Legislative
Council Chamber.
PRESENT
[June 29, 1907.
FINANCIAL MINUTES.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of H.F. the Officer Administering the Govern- ment, laid on the table Financial Minutes Nos. 21 to 25, and moved that they be referred to the Finance Commitee.
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the resolution was agreed to.
to
H18 EXCELLENCY THE OFFICER ADMINI-
in They STERING THE GOVERNMENT, Hon. Mr. F. H.
MAY, C.M.G.
have caused wrongs to be righted, while in others, to use another expressive phrase of Mr. MURRAY STEWART's, the Association has been condemned "to the silence which befits impotence."
It was considered, naturally, as the report remarks, that the tour of the Chinese Commissioners "implied a definite intention of reforming and enovating much that, however efficacious and respectworthy in the past, is admittedly unfitted to present conditions." spoke, indeed, as if that were the purpose, but the Report
just received notes that the prospect is still obscure." It will not be a hard matter for some members to agree with Mr. ARCHIBALD R. COLQUHOUN in one of his recent writings, wherein be says that "the actual policy of | the Peking authorities hins never varied. They have
tackled reform in
any practical spirit." The China Association is less pessimistic; it says the doubt whether "the great bureaucracy which has beeu accustomed for centuries to batten on the people is prepared to forego the privileges it has misused remains unsolved, whereas Mr. COLQUHOUN and others would tell us that doubt has received fresh confirmation. There are prign:ut words in this very report which can scarcely be said to hold out hope to the reflective.
never
AS 8
COD-
THE CUBICLE QUESTION. Hon. Dr. Ho KAI-Your Excellency, I rise move the series of resolutions standing
and my name.
matter of venience, Sir, I would beg leave to more these Hoo. Mr. A. M. THOMSON(Colonial Secretary). | resolutions en bloc since they are very closely Hou, Mr. H. H. J. GOMPERTZ (Allorney- connected with each other, and after due General).
consideration and discussion they may be put Hon. Mr. C. McI. MESSER (Colonial Treasingly and separately from the chair. At the meeting held on the 13th instant, your Excellency, whil speaking on the question cubicles, made use of the following words--' am in great hopes that the community as a whole will take this subject into their most Hon. Mr. F. J. BADELEY (Captain-Superin-serious consideration, and try to arrive this time tendent of Police).
surer).
Hon Mr. W. CHATHAM (Director of Public Works).
A. W. BREWIN Hon. Mr.
(Registrar- General).
Hon. Dr. Ho KAI, M.B., C.M., C.M.G. Hon. Mr. WEI YUK.
Hou. Mr. E. A. HEWETT. Pon. Mr. E OSBORNE. Hon. Mr. H. KESWICK,
Mr. A. G. M. FLETCHER (Clerk of Councils).
MINUTES.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read, and confirmed.
AN EXPLANATION BY HIS EXCELLENCY. HIS EXCELLENCY-Gentlemen, before pro- It has been a persistent misfortune for ceeding with the business I won'd like to advert China that her ruleis bave always tried to assert to some remarks that I made at the last meeting themselves by resistance rather than by progress, of this Council wher speaking on the Bill for by keeping foreigners at arm's length rather the amendment of section 175 of the Public than by engaging their help. The wave of Chau-
Health and Buildings Ordinance. I said thal viniem which is now passing over the country is I thought the hon. member nominated by the due probably to various causes, among which Chamber of Commerce had in his mind a certain the defeat of Russia by Japan, the guarantee block of buildings when he was speaking on the of Chinese integrity in the Anglo-Japanese Bill. I had that parti. ular block of buildings treaty, and jealousy of thesuperior consideration
in my own mind because it is a typical shown to Japan are probably chief. But deep hard
for the relief of which, among down also is the traditional vanity of the others, the Bill to amend the section was literate, fostered during centuries of isolation, introduced, and because it is the most important which resents foreign intrusion and resents a
of the hard cases concerning which the San tary superiority which Japan was wise enough to ad-
Board has asked the Governor in Council to mit and to obviate by study and assimilation."
deal with. Therefore this particular block of In a way, it is pointed out, China has buildings had been, and still is, the subject of admitted this, by ler attempts at encourag-correspondence between the Sanitary Board and ing foreign schooling; but those attempts have been spasmodic, and foiled (notwith- standing a big semblance of success) by
"}
the usual drawbacks. Dr. MORRISON was impressed by the numerous provisions for the new education he encountered in his recent travels, but Peking has also been impressed by the discontent bred by a smattering of "Western learning", and the recent Edict referring to Confucius was one Eign of the withdrawal of its countenance. This instability may be put down to the iritability engendered by consciousness of weakness. Army reform (so far as it has gone) and the guarantee of integrity Lefore mentioned might account for the activity of the reactionaries; but there is no proof that Peking trusts the Japanese any more than it loves them, and so bids are made for other foreign sympathy by protestations and promiss uf re orm, constitutional, juridical, and other. Con- stitutional reform is very much in the clouds; and the loudly advertised juridical reforms resolved themselves into the aboli. tion at Shanghai of certain severer forms of punishment-an abolition, curiously enough, not appreciated there, and the status quo has since been restored, pro- bably since this undated Report was written. Our "impotence 10
further these reforms requires no better illustration than China's failure, despite repeated urgings prompted by the Association, to carry into effect the contract in the second clause of the Mackay Treaty, and to establish a uniforin currency. It is not so much Chinese inertia that is to be fought, aa the strange reluctance of the British Government to insist upon its rights.
??
case
the Government. It was therefore, I submit, not altogether unreasonable that a connection between the block to which I have referred and
the Bill should exist in the mind of the hou. member as it did in my own mind. It never occurred to me when I made the remarks I did that my words would be construed as imputing improper motives to the hon. member. There could be no question of axe grinding in the matter, because the Bill was not introduced at his justance but on my own initiative in order to give relief to various buildings and to this block in particular. I may say I have taken sons interest in the matter, and had myself only recently visited the block in question. However the hon. member took my meaning up otherwise, and I can only assura him that I had no intention to question his singleness of purpose, and that I regret that any words of mice should have been capable of such interpretation. And, gentlemen, while expressing regret that I shou'd, even tentionally, have wounded the feelings of the hon. member, may I remind him that officials have feelings too, and that the charge of went of honesty in dealing with the compensation clauses uildings ander Ordinance was not and is not appreciated by men who, under the leadership of as thorough and honest and straightforward a man as ever
the
Public Health
and
uoiu-
occupied the chair I have now the honour of occupying, namely Sir Houry Arthur Blake, endeavoured to the best of their ability to deal justly and impartially
between taxpayers be are not property owners and taxpayers who have the fortune, or shall I call it misfor- tune, to have an interest in property. I say leadership of the Governor I have mentioned endeavoured to do their duty justly rnd impartially between the parties I have men- tioued when the compensation clauses of the Public Health and Buildings Ordinane were under consideration by this honourable house (applause).
that official members of this Council under the
пет
at some method of dealing with this question which will really settle it once for all." In your bope, Sir, I share, and it is to give an early opportunity to the members of this Conucil, and also to the public at large, of congidering and discussing this question, and of arriving at some definite ides regarding it, I that I now bring this resolution forward. hope that after due deliberation we will be able to suggest to the Government some method by which the question can b, dealt with in an effective nauzer, and that we will not con- tione to tinker with it, but grasp it firmly and be able to make provisions in a new law to deal with the question once for all. Now, Sir, with regard to resolutious 1 and 2, which read:- 1. That in the opinion of this Council a law relating to cubicles in Chinese dwelling houses is urgently required. 2. That it is desirable that such new law should include some method of dealing with the cubicle question which will be of a thorough nature and will settle the matter ouce for all. I will not dwell, on these resolutions at considerable length be- cause I believe that a few extracts from the report of the Sauitary Commission, and also from the spa-ch of your Excellency delivered on the 13th instant in this Council will make it clear to everybody that the terms of these two resolu tions are perfectly true, and will make them quite acceptable to honourable members of this Council and to the public at large. I beg Sir, to quote from pige 9 of the Sanitary Commis siou's report on the subject of cubicles, the remarks contained in paragraphs 59 to 69 (reads). This from the report of the Commis. sion, and then, sir, I would refer to your After these aldress of the 13th (reads). extracts, Sir, I think it quite needless for me to add anything to insure the acceptance of these two resolutions by the Council. Now, in coming to resolution 3: "That the scheme for pulling down the upper stories of every third house in the bloks of Houses in Chins town and the provision of liteal windows in the upper stories of the adjacent houses is a desirable and effective scheme." I have come to a definite proposal which was started or con. ceived some five years ago. It had ben com. musicated to the Government, I think in- formally, and it has received consideration from the Government. Plans have been drafted by
my hon. friend the Director of Public Works opposit, and copies laid on the table show
to carry ing how
out the scheme, and- the houses left would look like. what
the
Boheme The adoption of
meant the pulling down of every third house in a row of houses, which gives open spices between the houses, into which lateral windows could be
opened and sunlight admitted. Models were made by an officer of the Sanitary also Department showing the houses proposed to be altered or built under this scheme, and I believe these models are to be seen in the Medical Officer's room at the Sanitary Board, where any gentleman can pay a visit and view them. I have personally taken part in recommending this scheme to the interviews with Sir Government, and bad sever Henry Blake and the Medical OBoar of the subject. The objections Health on adyanged to it at that time were two la particu. lar, and these objections succeeded in setting aside the scheme for the time being in favour of
some
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