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There was only time in those busy days for a committee to meet on February 17 to pass a resolution that read: “A public meeting should be convened upon Wednesday, March 2 at 4.30 pm, and the Chief Justice shall be asked to preside. All members of the community are invited to attend. The meeting will be held at the City Hall."
After Mr. Chater's question and the Government's reply, "Brownie," the writer of the regular China Mail column “Fragrant Waters Murmur,” expressed the hope that "some scheme for celebrating Her Majesty's jubilee will be harmoniously arrived at, and that it will reflect credit upon the community of Hongkong as well as be a permanent good to the Colony and a worthy record to our Queen."
Unfortunately, it produced discord rather than harmony. It resulted in the Chinese holding their own meeting on March 28, when harmony did reign. That meeting decided to raise funds for a building for a Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
WHEN EXPATS WAXED OVER GLORIES OF SOVEREIGN
On March 2, 1887, a public meeting was convened at the City Hall to pass resolutions concerning Hongkong's celebration of the Golden Jubilee year of Queen Victoria.
Five resolutions were passed and several amendments were proposed. The proposer of each resolution gave a speech as did its seconder. It was an occasion upon which Hongkong's would-be Demosthenes could display their oratorical skill.
The anticipated celebration was one in which national pride could luxuriate. In that day loyal Britons took pride in the worldwide Dominion of the Empire. The occasion was an opportunity for the expatriates in Hongkong, an outpost of that Empire, to express their patriotic sentiments,
In the nineteenth century imperialists did not question the right of "civilised nations" to impose their rule over what were considered the less advanced peoples of the world. The "white man's