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Mr. Crow did not qualify. He was young. His position as a Government pharmacist did not put him in the same circle as the business taipans and senior government officials. The letter writer, in advocating a committee and the consideration of only written proposals, remarked: “It will never do to let any boy in the place get up at every meeting and have his crow.”
The writer himself had his own favourite scheme, but he modestly poses as one who knew his proper station. He said he would like to have spoken at the meeting on behalf of a girls' school, but had not because, “although an old resident, I am not a person of enough influence to put myself forward as its advocate at a public meeting, nor do I happen to be a ‘cocky' individual anxious to make my voice heard.”
He intimated that unless a proposer was a man of influence his proposal was unlikely to receive support: "My idea may be good or bad in itself, but I do not wish to weaken it through its being advocated in a public meeting by a (signed) 'Nobody'.”
With such sentiment being expressed, it was unlikely the next meeting would be able to rise above snobbery, personal feelings and petty animosities.
MUDDLED THINKING CLOUDS
JUBILEE MEMORIAL ISSUE AND PUBLIC HAS TO DECIDE
A meeting held on April 16, 1887 made no further progress towards reaching a decision on a suitable memorial for the Queen's jubilee than the meeting held four days earlier. At the conclusion of the meeting matters were still at a stalemate, even though there had been long speeches in support of the various proposals and the usual involved debate over procedure.
There was fear that this example of poor management, divided public opinion and display of petty feeling would be used as an argument against granting Hongkong citizens the privilege of more direct participation in the Government. There were demands being made at the time to allow the residents to elect a