140
communicate with the Chinese.
The editor of the Daily Press suggested that, “it would be well, indeed, in this colony if the Chinese could be encouraged to give a fuller expression to their opinion than they have been accustomed to do, for at present the Government has to work largely in the dark and has no reliable means of feeling the pulse of the native community."
"Brownie" of the China Mail also felt that the Government should be ready to listen to the real grievances of the Chinese, but only through the proper channels. "We desire to hear the real views of the respectable Chinese, but we must fight shy of any agitation which is not recognised by the Chinese representative,” meaning Dr. Ho Kai. Here, of course, was some of the difficulty. Dr. Ho Kai was in some measure out of tune with elements in the Chinese community.
The Governor did not improve the position of Dr. Ho vis-a-vis the Chinese, or at least that is what I conclude from the remarks of "Brownie." He comments on "the clever way in which the Governor called upon Dr. Ho Kai to clinch the arguments," even though "the worthy doctor may not have appreciated being used as a sledgehammer upon his own compatriots, though he doubtless recognised the necessity of the operation."
That he would submit to being a sledgehammer and appreciate the Governor's hard line was a high recommendation for him in the eyes of the foreigner, for "we badly need a few more Chinese who possess the enlightenment of the doctor." So thought "Brownie." An opposite view was taken by the Hongkong Telegraph.
It felt that, "the Chinese are entitled to better representation in the Legislative Council than at present." The editor suggested that in Hongkong where the British principle of “no taxation without representation" is ignored, “it must be especially galling to a large section of the community like the Chinese, whose one representative in the Council is nominated by the Governor. He is, we are assured, not the chosen representative of his countrymen,”
Page 165
Page 166