differing but little from the conditions of the Imperial Act, Sir A Kennedy will, I think, find himself mistaken in this respect.
It may be as well, notwithstanding the present suspension of the question in Hong Kong, to consider in what way the probable renewal of the representations of the French government and the Peninsular & Oriental Co. may be dealt with consistently at the same time with protection to the migrants and the interests of the Companies.
Sir Kennedy is under the impression that the Chinese Passengers Act was intended to apply only to Chinese migrating at the expense of Employers with whom they had entered into contracts of service and that no others can properly be called "Emigrants." I can hardly say that this is altogether a misapprehension.
If such an interpretation of the term "Emigrant" were correct there would be no justification for passengers Act. The object of the Act is to protect those who from their ignorance and condition are unable to protect themselves, and on this view it applies to all the labouring class whether emigrating under Contract or not.
At the same time, considering the nearness of Saigon & the Straits Settlements, the principal places to which the Messageries Maritimes & the Peninsular & Oriental steamers carry Emigrants, and that the voyage is through warm latitudes; it might be possible, without risk, to extend the exemption they now enjoy under the ordinance No. of 1871.
But whatever exemption is granted should not, I think, be granted to them because they carry mails, as in that case it could not be refused to any other Mail Steamer, but in consideration of their size and space in proportion to their number of passengers.
For instance, they might be exempted altogether from the Passengers Act & Ordinance if they did not carry more than one Steerage passenger (including Europeans as well as Chinese) to every 10 Tons of their registered tonnage and were allowed the space required by the ordinance of 1871.
Assuming the full burthen, this would allow a ship of 1000 Tons registered to carry 100 Steerage passengers, which is more than the Messageries Maritimes usually carry.
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A.