445
( 28 )
There is point no doubt in these contentions, in that the municipal institutions, which are to be found in Ceylon and the Straits Settlements, do not exist in Hong- kong, but the difficulty at Hongkong is and must be to draw a line between matters which might be entrusted to a municipal council and the business which must be reserved for the Colonial Government. In saying this I am aware that possibly or even probably a municipality would not meet the aspirations of the petitioners, and that they may place a wider construction upon the terms "local expen- diture" and "local affairs" than I have placed upon them.
14. One of the difficulties with which I am met in dealing with this petition arises from the fact that the words employed require to be more accurately defined before their meaning and the intention with which they are used can be fully gauged. This criticism especially applies to the last in the list of the petitioners' claims, viz., that they should be given a consultative voice in questions of an Imperial character. This sentence seems to point to some kind of Imperial Fede- ration, and it is possibly written with reference to the military contribution question which has not been without difficulty in various colonies including Hongkong. The subject raised is so wide and so vague that it would be useless to attempt to discuss it. The question of a general remodelling of the colonial system of Great Britain-for it would probably amount to no less-as it would necessarily become part of any scheme for a Federation of the Empire is à most interesting question; but one of too wide and far reaching a scope to be dealt with in regard to a single case alone. But I may state simply that under the existing system when questions arise which concern the various colonies, it has been the endeavour of my predecessors in office, and it is my own earnest endeavour, that the claims, the interests, and even the prejudices of each colony shall be adequately set forth, and fully and fairly considered.
15. To sum up, the petitioners ask nominally that Hongkong should be given self-government, and an elective system. In my opinion the place and its circumstances are wholly unsuited for what is proposed.
An Imperial Station with great Imperial interests, on the borders of a foreign land, the nucleus of wide reaching British interests in the Far East, must, it appears to me, be kept under Imperial protection and under Imperial control.
In saying this much I am assuming that the self-government would be worthy of the name, and that the elective system would include all ranks of the com- munity, but this is not what the Petition demands. Those who framed it and signed it would, I gather, desire to place the power in the hands of a select few. and to constitute a small oligarchy, restricted by the lines of race. To any such change I am opposed, I consider that the well-being of the large majority of the inhabitants is more likely to be safeguarded by the Crown Colony system, under which, as far as possible no distinction is made of rank or race, than by representa- tion which would leave the bulk of the population wholly unrepresented.
+
I can therefore hold out no hope that Hongkong will cease to be a Crown Colony.
16. It remains to consider whether any step can be taken which, while not interfering with the Crown Colony system, would slightly modify the existing con- stitution in the direction in which the petition points.
tion-
There appear to be three practical suggestions which are worthy of considera-
(a) Increasing the number of the unofficial Members in the Legislative
Council.
(b) Introducing an Unofficial element into the Executive Council. (c) Creating a Municipal Council.