October 30, 1909.1
HONGKONG
LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL.
A meeting of the Hongkong Legislative Council was held on Thursday in the Council Chamber.
* The following were present:-
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR, SIR FREDERICK JOHN DEALTRY LUGARD, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O.
Hon. Mr. F. H. MAY, C.M.G. (Colonial Secretary).
Hon. Mr. F. A. HAZELAND (Attorney- General).
Hon. Mr. C.MI. MESSER (Colonial Treasurer); Hon. Mr. P. N. H. JONES (Director of Public Works).
Hon. Mr. A. W. BREWIN (Registrar-General). Hon. Mr. F. J. BADELEY (Capt. Superinten- dent of Police).
Hon. Dr. Ho KAI, M.B., C.M.G.
Hon. Mr. E. OSBORNE.
Hon. Mr. E. A. HEWETT.
Hon. Mr. MURRAY STEWART,
Hon. Mr. W. J. GRESSON.
Hon. Mr. WEI YUK, C.M.G. Mr. C. CLEMENTI (Clerk of Councils),
MINUTES.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.
NEW MEMBER.
Mr. F. A. Hazeland took the oath and as- sumed his seat as a member of the Council.
FINANCIAL MINUTES.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY, by command of His Excellency the Governor, laid on the table Financial Minutes (Nos. 47 to 50), and moved that they be referred to the Finance Committee. The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
CHINA CVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
Service List) and when he was on the point of leaving England to take up his appointment here, he was for the first time informed by the Colonial Office that his services were no longer required?
Will the Government, taking into considera- tion the fact of Mr. Carter's good service, and that owing to his age he is now no longer eligible for obtaining fresh employment in a Government or municipal office, recommend to the Secretary of State that under the exceptional circumstances of the case Mr. Carter be granted a special pen- sion of, say, £130 p.a.; or as an alternative an tions to those of his former post ? offer of re-employment here on similar condi-
to agree to this, will his Excellency consent to In the event of the Government being unable refer the question as now raised to the Secretary
of State ?
The COLONIAL SECRETARY replied: 1. Mr. Carter first received notice of the intention to place him on pension in a letter from the Colonial Office dated the 24th of July. 2. It is a fact that Mr. Carter went home on a year's leave on 1st September, 1908. He applied for three months' extension of that leave prior to the intimation above referred to conveyed to him on 24th July; and he had been granted an extension to his leave of two months..
3. Mr. H. W. Just, of the Colonial Office, in a letter to Mr. Carter dated the 14th of last September wrote:-"With regard to your request for a special pension, I am to observe that you have been granted the addition allow ed under the regulations for abolition of office and that it is not possible to consider the grant of a special pension."
the Secretary of State.
4. The point has already been placed before
The Government has already considered the possibility of employing Mr. Carter in some capacity and should a suitable vacancy arise his claims to re-employment will not be overlooked,
AN EYESORE.
The Hon. M. STEWART asked the following question standing in his name:
"To whom, for what public purpose, and for how long has the plot of Government ground between the new Law Courts and the Praya
been let ?
HIS EXCELLENCY-With regard to the last of these minutes, no 50, it might interest the Council to know what has been done in this matter. On Friday, the 22nd, the Calchas brought in news, which was signalled also from Gap Rock, to the effect that there were a large number of dismantled junks floating about to the south and south-west of Gap Rock. I imme- diately sent out the tug David Gillies, which The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS replied: was hired from the Dock Company. She left-This ground with the exception of the strip at 2 a.m. so as to arrive on the scene about day. immediately in front of the Hongkong Club light and bring in whatever junks she could temporarily occupied by Mr. Chan A Tong find. She brought in 52 men from various junks for work in connection with his contract for and towed in one junk. At the same time I the New Law Courts, has been let since 1st applied to the Commodore and asked him to give December, 1906, to Messrs. Sang Lee & Co. for what assistance he could with the vessels of the their work in connection with the contract for Royal Navy. He sent out two destroyers and Post Office. The ground has to be cleared on they brought in one junk and also distributed three months' notice in writing from the rice and water to different crews; we sent out Director of Public Works. 200 pounds to be distributed. The next day, Sunday, the two destroyers again went out and brought in three more junks. On that occasion they again took out rice and water. On Monday further reports reached us from Gap Rack hat there was a number of derelect junks floating about. I appealed to the Commodore and he again sent out the two destroyers and the Cadmus. They have not yet returned. They took out 200 pounds of rice each, and the Stanley, which was making her fortnightly trip to Gap Rock, also took another 300 pounds of rice. The hiring of the David Gillies cost us $500 and the 2,700 pounds of rice cost $113, and the financial minute before the Council is for that amount. I may say that the Telemachus brought in 11 men, the Mathilde brought in six junks-a most creditable performance. (Applause.) The Helene brought in 16 men, and I have just heard that the Quinta sighted another junk and took her into safety. The total saved, therefore, is 82 men and 11 junks...
THE RETIREMENT OF MR. CARTER.
The Hon. Mr. HEWETT asked the following questions standing in his name :---
As it is understood that Mr. A. Carter, Sani- tary Surveyor, has been retired from the Gov- erment service, will the Honourable Colonial Secretary inform the Council when this official first received notice as to his being pensioned ?
Is it not a fact that Mr. Carter was at home on leave for nearly a twelvemonth in the full belief that he was to return to this Colony, and that within five weeks of the date of the expiring of his leave (as shown in the Civil
The Hon. Mr. STEWART-Will the Govern- ment undertake to have the plot in question cleared and made presentible as soon as it is no longer necessary to the work in the Law Courts and the Post Office to maintain it in its present untidy state ?
HIS EXCELLENCY-It would be advisable for you to give notice of that question. The present intention of the Government is to clear the plot as soon as it can be done, but I should like to have notice of the question if you desire
a definite answer.
THE SUBSIDIARY COINAGE. QUESTION
notice that at the next meeting I shall move Hon. Mr. STEWART-I beg leave to give
the following resolution :-That in the opinion of this Council the issue of a new subsidiary coinage convertible at par would not be success- ful unless the use of all other subsidiary coins were prohibited within the Colony, and that, in the circumstances, it is undesirable to deal with the matter except as part of a compre- hensive scheme of local currency reform.
THE FINANCE BILL.
383
The COLONIAL TREASURER seconded, and the Bill was read a third time.
CEMETERY ORDINANCE, The ATTORney-General moved that the Council go into Committee on the Bill entitled An Ordinance to set apart certain Crown Land to be used as a burial ground for persons professing the Christian Religion, other than members of the Roman Catholic Church.'"
The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the motion was agreed to. Council then went into Committee.
HIS EXCELLENCY-This Bill was held over to study the contemplated plan especially with reference to means of access to the ground beyond. Access has now been secured to the Roman Catholic cemeteries which are not in- shown on this plan. It has been signed and will cluded in this Bill by means of the right of way be deposited in the Land Office. I may refer to one question which has been mentioned to me privately, that is, with regard to Roman Catholics who are Freemasons. It was believed that they would not be allowed to be buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery. I consulted the Bishop, who informed me that there is no difficulty in the matter. They can be buried in the consecrated area or the dedicated area, as the case may be.
Hon. Mr. STEWART-I would draw attention to the fact that the memorandum is still incon- sistent with the provisions of the Bill. Clause 2 clearly admits any member of the Armenian Church or the Greek Church or any other Christians not Roman Catholics, whereas the intention of the Bill is to limit it to Pro- testants. I have no objection to the Ceme- tery being open to every Christian, but the object of the Bill will not be met by the Bill. Persons professing the Christian religion and not being members of the Roman Catholic Church are allowed to be buried in this place under clause 2. Is it the intention that it should be open to those who are not Protestants in our acceptation of the term?
HIS EXCELLENCY-The intention of the Bill is to open it to all Christians.
Hon. Mr. STEWART—As long as that is un. derstood, I am content. In the memorandum it says the Colonial Cemetery portion is to be reserved for the burial of members of the Pro- testant community. If you have a member of the Greek Church applying for burial there you would be up against a difficulty.
The Hon. Mr. HEWETT-The memorandum does not control. It would be the Bill itself.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-The Attorney- General has some amendments to move which will make the matter clear.
The Hon. Mr. OSBORNE-Are there any graves in the section marked non-Christian ?
Hon. DIRECTOR of Public Work-I think there are a few.
Hon. Mr. OSBORNE-If there are it would be rather rough on the relatives of these people to be buried in a non-Christian grave.
HIS EXCELLENCY-They won't be any worse off than they were before. (Laughter.)
Hon. Mr. OSBORNE-I said the relatives, not the bodies.
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-I move the
deletion of the words "Other than members of
the Roman Catholic Church. ":
Hon. Mr. STEWART-Then the effect of that
cemetery? will be that it will no longer be a Protestant
HIS EXCELLENCY - Yes.
dum the object of the Bill is wrongly stated?
Hon. Mr. STEWART-Then in the memoran-
of
HIS EXCELLENCY-Yes,
Clause 2 was amended so as to give a right
way.
The Bill passed through Committee and the Council resumed.
INSPECTION OF STEAM BOILERS.
This Bill is taken practically from the Or- dinance in force in the Straits Settlements, and the objects and reasons appear at the end. It is considered that this legislation is required
The COLONIAL SECRETARY-I beg to lay
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL-Sir, I rise to on the table the report of the Committee on the
move the second reading of the Bill entitled Bill entitled "An Ordinance to apply a sum not
"An Ordinance to provide for the periodical exceeding Five million six hundred and twenty-inspection of Steam Boilers and Prime Movers." five thousand six hundred and eighty-three Dollars to the Public Service of the year 1910. I beg to certify that the said Bill has been considered clause by clause in the presence of all members of the Finance Committee. There- fore, sir, unless any member objects it is unnecessary to go into Committee on this Bill and move that it be read a third time,
here.
The object of the Bill is to provide for the inspection of Steam Boilers and Prime Movers with the view to safeguard persons
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