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Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD. They might go to the Court here and obtain legal incorporation, but, I presume, you are aware that the Court would have, and has, no power to give them administrative powers or powers of a judicial nature?
A.—I do not know about that, because I have not studied the question.
The CHAIRMAN.-Will you point out in that Ordinance, which you have studied so carefully, where the Society is given judicial powers? Will you point out one section in that Ordinance which gives the Society judicial powers?
A. No, but I say the whole of it does.
Q.-Will you point out one section?
A.-There is no section. You have asked me that before.
Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-The act as a whole?
A.--The Act as a whole confers powers. I must state that I do not see that it particularly and directly by any special wording, confers judicial powers. I do not see that.
The CHAIRMAN.-You think that it gives judicial powers on the principle that "silence gives consent"?
A. No. I replied to that when Dr. Ho KAI asked me a question, namely, the whole tenour of the Ordinance does confer on them certain powers without any security for the manner in which they are to be exercised.
Q.--Will you point out to me any powers given in the Ordinance which are not in the rules already approved by the Secretary of State?
A. I cannot say.
Q.-It has not struck you that any new powers were given in the Ordinance which are not included already in the rules?
A. No, I did not look into that.
Q.--You talk about investigations into the family concerns of the people. This Society has been in existence for 12 years. Have you ever heard of any complaints from the Chinese of espionage or investigations into their social concerns?
A. No.
Q.-During 12 years?
A.--Yes.
Q. Do you not think that if there was any cause of complaint the Chinese would have complained, that they would have presented a petition to the Government stating that their family concerns were unnecessarily interfered with?
A.-I don't know. The probability is that, if it went very far, they might have done so.
But I think they have objections to do that sort of thing.
Q. You may remember a deputation during Governor BowEN's time which laid before him certain complaints on the part of the Chinese. Was there any complaint of this Society?
A.—I do not remember that there was.
Q.—You know that privacy of life is the palladium of the Chinaman?
A. Yes-it ought to be.
Q.-Don't you know that it is?
A. Yes.
Q. Don't you think that if that privacy had been interfered with by this Society, it would have been complained of on the occasion I refer to, among other things?
A.-Perhaps so.