DIE
SOIT
ET
MA
MON
DROIT
THE HONGKONG
Government Gazette.
報門 轅 港
Published by
by Authority.
香
No. 3.
號三第
VICTORIA, SATURDA, 19TH JANUARY, 1889.
日八十月二十年子戊 日九十月正年九十八百八千一
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, No. 2.
VOL. XXXV.
簿五十三第
THURSDAY, 10TH JANUARY, 1889.
PRESENT:
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR
(SIR G. WILLIAM DES VEUX, K.C.M.G.)
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary, (FREDERICK STEWART).
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the Attorney General, (EDWARD LOUGHLIN O'Malley).
the Acting Colonial Treasurer, (HENRY ERNEST WODEHOUSE, C.M.G.).
the Captain Superintendent of Police, (WALTER MEREDITH DEANE). PHINEAS RYRIE,
WONG SHING.
BENDYSHE LAYTON, (vice the Honourable ALEXANDER PALMER MACEWEN).
ABSENT:
The Honourable the Surveyor General, (JOHN MACNEILE PRICE).
JOHN BELL-IRVING.
CATCHICK PAUL CHATER.
The Council met pursuant to notice.
The Minutes of the last Meeting, held on the 2nd instant, were read and confirmed. MESSAGE-Reade following Message from His Excellency the Governor :-
G. WILLIAM DES VEUX.
The Governor, in accordance with the intimation made to the Legislative Council last year, has had under consideration the Report of the Commission which was appointed to enquire respecting the interpretation in the Courts and other Government Departments ; and as the result of further enquiries and much discussion of the subject, he is now prepared with definite recommendations, which, if adopted, will he hopes promote a more general knowledge of Chinese in the Public Service and bring about a substantial improvement in its interpreting capacity."
It should however be mentioned in the first instance that the existing state of things proved on investigation to be scarcely as defective as might be supposed from the report of the Commission. The Judges and Magistrates (from whom no information was sought or obtained) did not altogether confirm the view taken by the Commissioners in paragraph 7 of their report, and have furnished evidence showing that in respect of Hakka, the most important of the dialects specifically mentioned, the Colony is fairly well served. And even as regards the dialects of Swatow and Amoy the Governor, as the result of his enquiries, is not disposed to think that there is so wide a gap between present deficiency and whạt is practically obtainable as a superficial consideration of the subject is apt to indicate.
It is to be borne in mind that ideal perfection in interpretation is quite impracticable of attainment even when the two languages are far more akin than English and any dialect of Chinesc. In the quick translation of any one language into any other the success of cross- examination, is, and must be, frequently affected by the failure to distinguish delicate shades