HONGKONG.
273
No. 17
89.
STORM WARNINGS.
Presented to the Legislative Council, by Command of His Excellency the Governor.
Secretary, Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
to the Colonial Secretary.
SIR,
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
HONGKONG, 9th August, 1889.
I am directed by the Committee of this Chamber to ask you to be good enough to bring to the notice of His Excellency the Governor. for his favorable conside- ration, the desirability of the earliest publication of all available information re- garding the probable course of Typhoons forming anywhere in the neighbourhood, or at greater distances.
The pressing necessity for full and prompt publication of information bearing on the probable movements of Typhoons must already be so apparent to His Ex- cellency, that it seems entirely unnecessary on the part of my Committee to adduce any arguments whatever with the view of more deeply impressing upon him the vital importance, to a Community largely interested in Shipping, of early notice of the movements of such destructive visitants.
The Committee are aware that it has been customary in the past to give some publicity to such information, but so far as they know it has not been attempted systematically, and they now venture to suggest that His Excellency will be good enough to give instructions that all information reaching any of the Departments be at once made public.
I am further instructed to state that should His Excellency see fit to commu- nicate such information to the Chamber, the Committee would gladly undertake to distribute it, if such an arrangement would in any way facilitate its prompt publication.
The Committee beg me to suggest that should it meet the approval of the Government the Chamber will gladly circulate the intelligence, by "Express," or otherwise, at their expense, on receipt of the actual transcript of the telegram, or other information, directly it reaches my hands.
The near approach of the Typhoon Season makes the present time pecu- liarly appropriate to bring to the notice of His Excellency a subject affecting the interest, of not only shipowners, but the entire Community, and the Committee trust their suggestions may meet with a favorable reception.
I have the honor to be,
The Honorable F. STEWART, LL.D.,
Colonial Secretary.
ኔ
Sir,
Your obedient Servant.
F. HENDERSON,
Secretary.