+
302
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS -AND
been somewhat less onerous than it now is. History of Hongkong. (See pages 202, 225, The system of Government established in 1841260-263, 322, 507, and 574.) may then, when the colony was in its infancy, have been the most convenient and the most suitable. With the totally different and altered circumstances, and the completely changing conditions of the times and things generally, the old system has grown inapplicable. It is also much too expensive.
Sir William Robinson, in July, 1892, publicly informed the community that he had been the financial Saviour of three colonies-Bahama, Barbadoes, and Trinidad,that he did not despair of rescuing Hongkong from its financial difficulties, and of meeting with success in his administration. His Excellency also held out hopes of being able to show in a few months from that time a prospective annual saving in the cost of government of $60,000 a year. Has any such saving or retrenchment been accomplished? No; the cost of government has risen from $547,650 in 1887 to $758,139 in 1891, and to the unprecedented amount of $983,352.86 for 1895. Instead of diminishing taxation it has had to be increased, to meet the ever-expanding cost of administration, and the Government's half- hearted advocacy of the interests of the colony in respect of the military contribution has resulted in Hongkong being saddled with an inequitable and heavy charge far heavier than it would have been had we possessed the advan- tages of a Municipal Council. See the memo- randum of the unofficial members of Council to the Secretary of State for the Colouies of this date.
པས
The meanest Roman citizen had the right of appealing to Caesar against official oppression. In the modern British Empire the Cosar" to which we appeal is public opinion. Against that force happily injustice cannot long stand. It is studied by statesmen as anxiously as the winds and currents by sailors, and it controls
even Parliament itself.
+
The desire on the part of the Hongkong people for a reasonable control over their municipal affairs is most natural, for the sanitary condition of the city could not well be worse than it has been, and unfortunately still is, while ingrained red tape and official routine is too much in evi dence in most departments. The general posi-
tion and outlook does not tend to create or in- spire implicit coufidence, and consequently new enterprises are thereby to some extent deterred from starting. Trade and local industries al- ready established cannot claim to receive the due encouragement they deserve at the hands of
officialism.
The belief is slowly butsteadily gaining ground throughout the colony that the community will not rest satisfied until the British residents are allowed to enjoy the privilege of managing their municipal and sanitary affairs. There is .nothing new or presumptuous in the move- ment in favour of communal reform. Every Englishman, as a matter of course, looks for the privilege of being permitted to manage his municipal affairs, as it is his inalienable birth- right, but it is denied him in Hongkong.
Speaking at the Royal Colonial Institute last month on "National Defence," Sir George
Clarke said-
"Burke plainly foresaw what has now come to pass when he wrote- I was ever of opinion that every considerable part of the British dominions should be governed as a free country otherwise, I knew that if it grew to strength and was favoured with opportunity it would soon shake off the yoke intolerable in itself to all liberal minds, and legs to be borne from: England than from any country in the world.' Free institutions established in the Mother Country must, as Burke foretold, be repro-
duced and extended in her colonies but this knowledge was purchased by the nation at a
[April 9, 1896.
night could properly control and direct such a staff (the Sanitary staff) I do not believe, and A Select Committee of the House of Commons that four or five independent gentlemen.could was appointed in March, 1847, to enquire into be found who have the time, and inclination to British commercial relations with China, &c.devote several hours daily to such a task is be- The evidence and the report are interesting yond the bounds of possibility." reading, and contain a serious and weighty con- demnation of the administrative policy of the Government of Hongkong of that day.
The final report of the Parliamentary Com. mittee urged upon the Imperial Government the following, among other recommendations:-
“That & share in the administration of the ordinary and local affairs of the Island be given by some system of Municipal Government to the
British residents."
Dr. Eitel, in his very able history of Hong- kong, previously referred to, says at page 274: As to a British Municipal Council, it has to be noted that the history of this period (1873) emphatically contradicts one great ob. jection to it, which Sir G. Bonham formulated by asserting that out here in the East. there is no leisured class, and that men of standing possess neither time nor inclination to devote to the interests of the public. The long con tinued and varied activity in parely public affairs, displayed during, this period by indi- viduals like J. Dent, Ph. Ryrie, J. Whittall, W. Keswick, and others, and most particularly the large share of attention and time which the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce devoted to questions of general policy, gives the lie to the assertion that the commercial men of this colony are unwilling to sacrifice their time and their strength to the management of
communal affairs.'
I would earnestly urge and strenuously entreat the Government to look to Shanghai and there see a system of municipal administra- tion, and one economically managed, which inspires implicit confidence, and which is wisely directed on thoroughly sound businesa principles by practical business men, members of the mercantile community and men of common-sense, without the aid of a Governor and without the expense of an army of officials, giving good sanitation, unlimited freedom to foreigner and native, anrivalled expansion and prosperity in local industrial enterprise, profit- able results in every direction, and at every turn, not surpassed anywhere in the wide world, and very seldom equalled. As to the quality and capacity of Hongkong men I would refer to the Colonial Secretary's recent speeches, and the high character he entertains regarding them. I would beseech His Ex- celleney to reconsider the question, publish all the papers in connection with the Sanitary Board'a original construction and 'reconstruc- tion, and endeavour if possible to sympathise with the views of the ratepaying community, and with what they deem to be best for their own interesta.
阗
Your hearty and welcome words of encourage- ment and of appreciation of my work, in spite of the many drags and the many clogs on the
wheels of local progress, will but inspire me with fresh vigour and increased energy. I In addition to these the following names may realise in a deep sense your having honoured be mentioned-Sir Thomas Sutherland, M.P.,
me with a renewal of your confidence. In addi- Mr. Richard Rowett, Mr. Bulkley Johnson, tion thereto, it is gratifying to possess, as I and there are others of whom any community conscientiously do, the full conviction that, has reason to specially and justly feel proud. notwithstanding my many shortcomings and Hongkong owes much of its material progress the numerous mistakes I have made, my sotions and importance to the great qualities with which have ever been prompted by the desire to Providence has endowed the Anglo-Saxon race,
do only that which I believed to be most to the vigorous and continuous development of conducive to the public
good and for these qualities by successive generations, to the the welfare of the community. While I zealous industrial enterprise and the conspicuous have the pleasure of residing amongst ability of its citizens, many of whom show an almost unparalleled record of unabated activity. that I shall avail myself of every opportunity you, my fellow-citizens may rest assured It is to be regretted that successive Gov-and will use every constitutional means to help ernors have not deemed it expedient to base forward the much-needed cause of reform in their policy on the recommendations of the our antiquated system of government. To Parliamentary Committee of 1847, or to ad-endeavour to contribute, in however small a minister the Government on popular principles, and to systematically sacrifice the individual done with advantage to the ratepayers, as was views of Departments, which could have been
evidenced during Sir George Bonham's governorship, without any sacrifice to the dignity of the Government. The policy of the Government in connection with sanitary matters generally, the Sanitary Board, and its reconstruction, is unsatisfactory and is in every respect unworthy of an enlightened administra. tion, completely at variance with the spirit of the times in which we live and move, and I believe contrary to public opinion and to the wishes of the majority of the residents, and absolutely opposed to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee of 1847.
Public men do well to remember and to recognise the fact that the Press is now a reflects public opinion and it also reflects the great social, political, and moral power. It nation. It appeals to the sense and the judg ment of the people, and its influence and teach- ing inspire the world. It cannot be disregarded even by the Premier of England if he would our United comprehend the character of Kingdom or the nature of the processes by which the actions of a mighty Empire are directed. The just criticisms and the just
To
degree, to promoting the general interests of the colony, in which I have had the good for- is, I feel, my bounden duty. Such work tends tune to spend many of the best years of my life,
to fit man for a life of some usefulness in the future, and it is assuredly a refreshing stimulus and a strong incentive to intellectual life. each and all of the signatories I offer my heartfelt thanks for their unexpected_address and kind words of welcome. They afford me unmingled gratification, and let me sure you they are deeply and highly appreciated.—Believe me, youfs very truly,
(Signed) J. H. WHITEHEAD. Messrs. G. B. Dodwell and G. W. F. Playfair.
***
the caterer's account for the Li banquet. We Our contemporory the Peking and Tientsin Times in its last issue prints without comment presume this is meant for a quaint and signifi.
cant hint. Falstaff's immortal reckoning con- tained but one halfpenny worth of bread to an intolerable deal of sack, but no one can say this of the North China Amphitryons, their "wit- tiles," as Weller would have it, ran to $726, while tion in Shanghai that Tientsin men took off their drink was $636. There used to be a tradi-
business. The present evidence would show that their general coefficient of gastric elasticity is still large. Allowing for teetotalers and abste- must have put away one quart and a half of mious Chinamen, we calculate that each man
heavy cost-the loss of America. It is perhaps censures of the Press are invaluable. They their coats to drink, so seriously did they mean
because France and Germany; our rivals as colonising powers, have not yet attained to freedom as we understand the word, that they have so far entirely failed to create a single real colony."
are the mirror through which man can acquire knowledge and can learn how to amend his faults, to avoid errors, utilise his abilities available for doing more perfectly that which whatever they may be, and make them more
Summaries of several of the numerous griev. | his hand findeth to do. The Hongkong Press champagne (at an average prios of 98. 2d. per
anoes which the mercantile and Chinese com- munity have given expression to from time to time and on sundry occasions, commencing as far back as in 1842, are to be found in Dr. Eitel's recently published and most excellent
|
has unanimously condemned the Government's retrograde policy in re the Sanitary Board.
The Governor in his opening address to the Council in November, 1894, said :----
That a Sanitary Board meeting once a forț-
bottle) in addition to nearly one bottle of other wine. We can only suggest a motto for the next Northern official menu: We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart" (Hamlet) - | N. C. Daily News,
Page 10Page 11