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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE.
most part, been chiefly on the former ground. | position with the Chinese or with others The Chinaman is for the most part an awk-who might be thus excluded. “ ward competitor both for work and for trade on a minor scale wherever he has set foot; and in these days of severe competition it is not surprising that some of our Colonies- notably Australia-have set themselves against anything in the form of Chinese. immigration, and have become more and more exclusive in their legislation on the subject. There are not wanting signs that the newly-formed Labour Party in England will endeavour to use its influence to in- crease this opposition to what they regard as an invasion of fields of labour which should be open to them without such undue competition, and thus there is every prospect of the anti-Chinese attitude in our Colonies being increased to a marked extent before many years have elapsed. Mr. KEIR HARDIE indeed has already declared that the Labour Party will make it its business to use its influence in this direction; and that in fluence may have very serious effects in Colonies where the labour vote is of almost dominant weight. A great deal of the intense opposition to the importation of Chinese into South Africa, which had so serious an effect at the recent elections, arose în reality from the idea that the Chinese wore ousting "white labour." The nou- sensical <
slavery" cry was not the sole and probably not the main motive force. It was the idea that but for the Chinese a large number of English labourers could find employment; an idea which was entirely mistaken, as it has been proved already that unskilled labour was unsuited for Europeans, This, however, is not the case in Australia and other places where the Chinese and other Asiatics may compete with Europeaus; and there is no doubt that if fixed relations were established between the fabour organisations in England and those in the Colonies, a position might arise which would be embarrassing alike to the Imperial and the Colonial Governments, whenever any question as to Asiatic im- migration into any of our Colonies might arrive. It may be accepted, however, as certain that the principle of absolute ex- clusion cannot be maintained in the present day; and it is to be hoped that the extreme labour advocates both in the Colonies and in Britain will refrain from using their influence in a way which would end in seriously embarrassing both the British Government and the Colonies. This would certainly be the result if exclusion of Asiat ica be pushed to an extreme. The Imperial
ernment cannot of course dictate to the Registration, Colonies upon a matter affecting their in- ternal administration; and would find itself in an awkward position in vetoing any measures passed by Colonial Legislatures on such a subject. On the other hand it is the Imperial Government which would have to deal with China or any other Asiatic nation in regard to any reprisals (such as the recent boycott of American goods) which might be taken by the Asiatic nation that felt itself aggrieved, and in this important direction the question is an Imperial and not a Colonial one. Some understanding, therefore, ought to be come to, if possible, between the Colonies and the British Government on the subject, with a view to avoiding friction of a dangerous character which might at any no arise. Certain restrictions upon Asiatic igration may reasonably be imposed upon economical and also upon grounds, but it will be difficult to
■ right of absolute exclusion as has threatened in some instances, without aising international questions which may have a serious effects upon our commercial
(Daily Press, 28th March). To-day theannual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce is to take place; so far as we can see, there is less business of import- ance than usual. The annual report, which reaches us rather too late for adequate analysis, states that during 1905 the mem- here had fewer questions than has been customary in recent years to deal with. The Pilots Ordinance of 1904 is the first subject mentioned, and there is little new to be said about it. There was, and prob- ably is still, a desire on the part of the European pilots to obtain exclusive com- mand of this industry, but the views of the Chamber were against this, and were shared by the GOVERNOR and by many shipowners. The reply of the Colonial Government to the Chamber's request for details of any proposed legislation in the nature of Fiscal Reforin, the report says, "can be regarded as satisfactory. We should hardly have expected the members to rejoice unduly at the noncommittal reply, which said in effect that the Chamber of Commerce was not a body to consult with regard to Imperial questions, but the Colonial Government would continue to seek its advice in such tradal matters as could use. fully be referred to it for opinion. There is not the slightest doubt that its opinion on any proposal of the kind indicated, however much a part of Imperial policy it might be, would be forthcoming; and we suppose it will now look elsewhere for the information asked for, if it should ever be needed. But there is small likelihood of that at present. Of course the Colonial Government must have been thinking of the international composition of the Chamber when that reply was framed; but little alarm on that head should have been felt. It is almost certain that every member of the Chamber would consider any fiscal policy affecting the Colony from the purely com rercial stand, point. It may be noted that the co-operation of the Chamber with the shipping Firms and Agencies promises to greatly enhance the value to shipmasters of the daily returns from the Weather Bureau. With regard to the important subject of Partnerships
the Chamber,
though admittedly keenly interested, proposes to wait and watch the experiments of other people. A voluminous appendix gives full information of the movement in India and Singapore; and the report comments: "the Committee have closely followed the progress of the above-mentioned attempts to legislate for the compulsory registration of partnerships, but see no reason at present to depart from the attitude adopted in the last report.” We fear that present indications do not promise any very encouraging example for local emulation. It seems that the opinion of the Chamber was taken with regard to announcing public holidays during the recent royal visit, and that they advanced good reasons for not overdoing this Far Eastern luxury. Those correspondents who wrote repeatedly advocating more holidays will no doubt have censure to offer but the concensus of material opinion will be that the Chamber took a proper view of the matter. These appear to be the only features sufficiently salient to require immediate notice.
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[April 2, 1906.
SHANGHAI IN 1905.
*
more in
Daily Press, 29th Marcb.) There probably never was a teresting Report issued by the Shanghai Municipal Council than the annual report. for 1905. It holds the reader's interest more - than does many a modern novel, and as we can do no more than skim its five hundred pages of closely packed history, we recom mend readers to procure copies for them selves. The contribution of the CAPTAIN: SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE is perhaps the most coloursome. Beginning by noting "the extraordinary growth of houses-houses. larger and of finer architecture than formarly —the enormous area over which these new houses are springing up on the Settlement's outskirts, the great growth in the native population, and the increase in numbers and in variety of the foreign residents," Captain BorSRAGON mentions the large increase in freights, and proceeds to show how much depends on an efficient police force in such a place. Incidentally, he mentions an interesting arrangement by which all the Indian watchmen are to be primarily enrolled in the Police, and their services lent for fixed periods to those who may require them. The history of the Mixed Court in its perhaps most important new incident year is detailed, and a reported by the gentleman detailed to watch for irregularities is described. It is alone sufficient to show the need of greater foreign supervision of the magistrates who flagrantly defy their own Imperial Edicts. During the first week in January of this year, states Mr. A. H. FENTON, cadet, two young girls who had escaped from a brothel were ill-treated at the Mixed Court. They complained that they had been beaten, and wished to be sent to a refuge provided for such people. The Chinese woman, their late mistress, was sent for, and she denied beating them, and accused them of theft. One of them, only ten years old, was stormed at and threatened, to make her" confess": the other was, with a similar object, given fifty blows on the mouth! The MAGISTRATE guilty of this atrocity is a tool of the anti-foreign TAOTAI. With
the riots, it regard to
that appears the police partly expected them, but that, in the hope of the trouble blowing over, they were not allowed to take steps that might have nipped it in the bud. Investiga tion afterwards confirmed the suspicion **The of official connivance. We read, manner in which the attacks were delivered, the class of people in the Settlement at the time, and the general organisation, showed the work of persons of a higher class than loafers and beggars." And more significant still, it should be explained that, the object of the strike in the first instance was to inconvenience. Foreigners as much saa possible, and demonstrate to the Higher Authorities the attitude of the native community of the Settlement towards the action of the Foreign Authorities in the There is matter of the Mixed Court. : evidence in the possession of the Police to show that intercourse of a confidential nature had taken place before the riots between certain native officials and the promoters of the movement which culminated in the riot, and there appears little doubt that the entire action of the latter bad, the. approval of these officials." The report further teems with incidents showing the revived hostility to all things foreign, The particular TAOTAL concerned on - several occasions in the correspondence speaks or writes as if he were a high diplomatic representative of Imperial China, and once indeed, makes a remark very suggestive of
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