2.
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(iv) He also said that the Elected Members would like to hear
Hr. Higham's comments on the 1960 Memorandum to London which had been discussed in London with Mr. Higham' S predecessor, Mr. Wallace, although he appreciated that the Memorandum dealt more with matters beyond the juris- diction of the Urban Council.
(v) a later stage he craved leave to interrupt another
speaker and said that it was the opinion of most Un- official Members that the Fire Brigade and Social Welfare Department should be brought under the Urban Council and also that the Urban Council should have some say in Education and Medical affairs.
DR. R.H.S. LI, 0.B.E. referred to the Government's large financial
reserves held abroad which he thought were lying idle. This was wrong, because with the rapid growth of Hong Kong, the money could be put to better use locally on development, projects for water, transportation, etc,
Regarding the need to increase the scope and responsibilities of the Urban Council, it should be noted that the Elected Members were constantly being pressed by members of the public for action in spheres where the Council had no control.
3. DR. P.F. WCO referred to the question of the appointment of members
of the Urban Council to Committees, and suggested that Government always appeared to show partiality towards the Appointed Members in the selection of members for Boards and Committees outside the scope of the Urban Council. Dr. Woo asked if this was the policy of the Colonial Office. Ir. Higham replied that this was not, and said that this might be just the practice of the local government.
4.
5.
6.
MR. CHLUNG WING-II raised two points. First, that the electoral roll
should be inoreased by bringing in registered nurses and property taxpayers. Second, that the scope of the Urban Council should be enlarged to bring it more into line with oity councils elsewhero, and that it should assume control over more departments of Government in Hong Kong.
IRS. E. ELLIOTT said that the Report of the Working Party on Education
which had just been published was an unpopular one. She felt that if the Urban Council had been responsible for producing the report, (in the same way as in the case of the Working Party on Housing) the result would have bcen very different. She felt that the Urban Council should have a say in matters concerning Education, Transport and Social Welfare and suggested that there was need to raise the level of taxation.
MR. H.S. LO agreed that taxes should be raised, and referred especially
to property tax. He suggested that there should be an assessment tax on newly completed properties which were deliberately being left empty because the owners could not get the high rents they wanted.
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/(Mr. B. Bernacchi
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0003230- G.F. 323
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