HONGKONG, 29TH JULY, 1867.
日八十月六年卯丁治同 1137
The meeting of the Shareholders of the Hong-ong Hotel Company has been held, but nothing very definite transpired. prospects of the one were considered incongruous.
3. The Governor does not feel called on again to discuss the question at length, as he is bound to give a direct denial of your assertion that the measure has been introduced in an underhand and un-English way. Such a statement is as untrue, as it is unreasonable to assert that a Law for licensing Gambling Houses will certainly lead to a large increase of Gambling.
2. Because licensing Gambling Houses will certainly lead to a large increase of Gambling. The fear of the law, which is now a partial check, will be removed. The publicity of the present Court in dealing with piracy has rested additional powers in the Supreme Court.
The Governor has introduced an ordinance:
The French have annexed the remaining provinces of Cambodia.
THE "GAMBLING" REVENUE,
Shortly before going to press we received a printed copy of the subjoined correspondence between the signataries and His Excellency the Governor. The case is this: The Governor proposes to raise a revenue from Chinese gambling places, by licensing them, and he estimates the revenue derivable from that source from $250,000 to $300,000 per annum.
The memorialists object to licensing at all. There is a third party, including ourselves, who advocate licensing in order to give the power of regulating and controlling, but without any view to deriving pecuniary profit from, the vices of Chinamen. His Excellency Sir R. Graves MacDonnell, thinks, however, that it is perfectly consistent with the honour of the Crown which he represents that the expenses of its administration in Hongkong should be partially defrayed by what can be obtained from the public gambling tables of the Chinese.
There is no social or pecuniary necessity for such a very objectionable mode of raising money for the use of government here. His Excellency has committed a blunder. The Stamp Act is available honestly, and would yield more money than Sir Richard requires. Why he has preferred to trade upon the vicious propensities of Chinamen, instead of carrying out a law to which Her Majesty has assented, has yet to be satisfactorily explained.
It will be seen that Sir Richard, in his reply, mildly insinuates that it is not his intention to aid the general revenue by such means; and this may, perhaps, be regarded as a sign of repentance.
Memorial of the Reverend Charles F. Warren and Others to His Excellency Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, C.B., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hongkong.
SIR,
LONDON MISSION HOUSE, HONGKONG, 24th July, 1867.
After the recent interview of Messrs. Warren, Morris, and Turner, with Your Excellency, when you were so good as to listen to some arguments against the proposed system of licensing Gambling Houses in this Colony, and you intimated your intention of putting that system into operation; we desire respectfully to lay before Your Excellency the following objections, which we venture to beg your earnest consideration.
We object to, and feel in conscience bound to protest against, this scheme, for the following reasons:
1. Because it has been introduced in an underhand and un-English way. It is included in an Ordinance for "the Maintenance of Order and Cleanliness," a title under which no one would look for such a measure.
The clause affecting Gambling is worded ambiguously; but any plain honest man would interpret it as meaning the very contrary to licensing the evil.
It looks as if every care had been taken to blind-fold the public on this subject. There has been no opportunity of eliciting public opinion here; no opportunity of memorialising the Home Government in opposition to it.
3. Because licensing Gambling Houses will never lead to the "ultimate suppression" of the vice.
To pretend the contrary would be the most barefaced hypocrisy. Every one who argues for the licensing, Your Excellency included, does so on the ground that suppression is hopeless.
The licensing will bring a large Revenue which the Government will not easily resign. But if at any time the Government does withdraw the licenses, the illegal Gambling will then be harder to put down than ever.
4. We believe that a large proportion of the Chinese population of this place are opposed to this measure. Its introduction will have a seriously demoralising effect on the Chinese resident in the Colony.
Gambling is at present equally illegal by British and by Chinese law, in every part of the two Empires. Only last Year the Governor of Canton took stringent measures for the suppression of Gambling in that City.
The proposed measure will degrade both our civilization and our Christianity in the eyes of the Chinese people.
5. We believe that the Government has no right to countenance and sanction vice.
By licensing Gambling Houses the Government will not only do this, but will actually protect and patronise that class of sharper who make Gambling their regular profession, and live by preying on the community, and (which is still worse) will itself take a share of their ill-gotten gains.
For the above reasons we are compelled, with much personal reluctance, to enter our earnest protest against this proposed measure.
We again thank Your Excellency for the patient hearing you gave to arguments against your policy and are sorry we are constrained to announce to you, that we cannot but take every possible measure, both here and in England, to obtain the reversal of this scheme.
We are, with great respect,
Your Excellency's
Obedient humble Servants,
(Signed,) CHARLES F. WARREN, C.M.S.
JOHN PIPER.
RUDOLPH LECHLER.
JACOB LORCHER.
DAVID B. MORRIS.
F. TURNER.
From Cecil C. Smith, Acting Colonial Secretary, to Reverend Charles F. Warren and Others.
COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE,
HONGKONG, 27th July, 1867.
GENTLEMEN,
1. I am instructed by His Excellency Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, to say that pressure of business has prevented his earlier acknowledging receipt of your letter of the 24th instant.
2. His Excellency is obliged to you for bringing before him once more your reasons for condemning the policy of licensing Gaming Houses in this Colony.
At the same time he cannot help remembering that Three of your number, at a recent interview, quite failed to give any satisfactory answer to his arguments in favour of that policy and appeared entirely unprepared with any suggestions to meet acknowledged existing evils.
6. Those efforts moreover drove the incorrigible and numerous Chinese Gamblers of the Colony to resort to secret lairs, to live in a perpetual defiance of the law, and thus established numerous rendezvous of the worst classes, where nine-tenths of the burglaries and daring crimes perpetrated were planned.
7. His Excellency might of course have left matters in that state, which he presumes is what you would advise, or he might resort to the other alternative of the Ordinance for "the better limitation and control of Gambling," which is the policy that he considers most consistent with his duty to maintain "Order."
8. Last Month the Colonial Press gave full publicity to the Governor's declaration in Council of his opinion that it would be wise to regulate what we could not suppress, and if publicity be "un-English, and calculated to blind-fold the Public," you will find it in extenso in the reported proceedings of the Legislative Council of the 17th ultimo.
9. His Excellency would have expected from the deep interest which you feel in the question that you would then have avowed your opinions.
It may be a satisfaction to you however to know that Members of Council, at least all the non-official Members, so far back as the passing of the Ordinance last year, were well acquainted with and entirely approved of the alternative given to the Executive, if the suppression of Gaming proved impossible.
Such also is the opinion of the most experienced residents here, men whose opinions are entitled to equal weight with yours, for His Excellency presumes that you do not claim a monopoly of either sagacity or virtue.
10. You allude to the "large Revenue" which Gambling licenses will bring in, and some of your number have published letters imputing to the Government the most sordid motives.
Your imputing such motives, when disavowed by the Government, gives them neither truth nor even increased probability.
11. The Governor simply wishes to free Gambling from its present illegality so far as to break up the gangs of illegal Gamblers, whose cliques are now the schools and nurseries of crime, the continuance of ...
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