– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 March 1947.
Mr Thomas Reid
, Swindon
12:00,
5 March 1947
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Chinese, approximately, who arc not British subjects, have emigrated to Hong Kong during and since the war and remainder there as residents; and if those of them who earn considerable incomes pay any direct taxes to the Hong Kong Government.
Mr. Creech Jones:
No accurate figures are available but it is estimated that the total population of Hong Kong, of whom the vast Majority are Chinese, has risen since August, 1945, from 700,000 to the 1941 figure of 1,600,000. No direct taxation is at present in force, but projected taxation on earnings and profits will apply to immigrants of all nationalities who have been resident in Hong Kong for longer than 180 days in any one year of assessment.
Sir Walter Fletcher
, Bury
Can the Minister say whether there is any legal instrument in the hands of the Hong Kong Government to prevent mass immigration on the present scale, and does it not impose on the Government a very great strain which they are doing their utmost—with some success—to deal with?
Mr David Gammans
, Hornsey
Is not this increase of immigration due to the fact that this is the only stable part of China?
Sir Stanley Reed
, Aylesbury
Does not the Colonial Secretary realise that this great increase in immigration is due to the fact that Hong Kong, under the British flag, is the only island with any security in the whole of that vast country?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
