ENG-1959 — Page 402

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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rent and value of real property. The Inland Revenue Department, headed by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, administers the collection of the internal revenue of the Colony which includes Earnings and Profits Tax, Stamp Duties, Estate Duty, Entertain- ment Tax, Dance Halls Tax, Bets and Sweeps Tax, and Business Registration Fees. The Commerce and Industry Department, under a Director, is responsible for industrial and trade development, the collection of revenue from import and excise duties, the activities of the Preventive Service, certificates of origin, trade licensing, Government bulk purchases of firewood and certain foodstuffs, control over stocks of reserve commodities, and the production of trade statistics and any other statistics required by other depart- ments of the Government. The department also administers the London and Tokyo offices of the Hong Kong Government. (The work of these departments is described in Chapters 4 and 6).

The Public Works Department, under a Director, consists of nine sub-departments, dealing with waterworks, Crown lands and surveys, the administration of the Buildings Ordinance, electrical and mechanical works (including Government motor transport), architecture (Government buildings), development, port works, drainage and roads. The Director of Public Works is also respon- sible for town planning. (See also Chapters 10, 14 and 15).

The Urban Council, constituted under the Urban Council Ordinance, consists of five ex-officio members, namely the Chair- men (who is at the same time the Director of the Urban Services Department), the Assistant Director of Health Services (Vice- Chairman), the Director of Public Works, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and the Director of Social Welfare; and sixteen ordinary members, of whom eight are elected and eight appointed by the Governor. The Commissioner for Resettlement sits as a temporary additional ex-officio member. The term of office of ordinary members is four years. The Council meets monthly to transact formal business, but most of its business is dealt with by eighteen select committees, which meet at frequent intervals.

The Council carries out its responsibilities through the Urban Services and Resettlement Departments. The Urban Services Department, whose work is separately described in Chapters 9 and 21, operates the basic sanitary services in the urban area and has a variety of duties in the field of public health, such as the