# Farewell Address to Sir Arthur Kennedy
On the occasion of Sir Arthur Kennedy's departure from Hong Kong, a farewell address was presented to him by the Chinese community. The address highlighted his achievements and good governance during his tenure as Governor of Hong Kong.
## Appointment and Career
Sir Arthur Kennedy was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in 1872, having previously served in various other capacities, including governorships in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver's Island, and the West African Settlements. He was known for his good administration and ability in discharging his duties.
## Good Governance in Hong Kong
During his tenure in Hong Kong, Sir Arthur Kennedy enforced the Law of Deportation, which helped to drive away bad characters and maintain peace and order in the colony. He also paid attention to the sanitary state of the gaol and took an interest in the cases tried. Additionally, he encouraged education by setting aside sums of money to assist various schools.
## Suppression of Slave Trade
One of Sir Arthur Kennedy's notable achievements was the suppression of the slave trade and the traffic in women. He reported to the British government, requesting communication with Portugal, which eventually led to the stopping of this evil practice. He also prohibited ships in Hong Kong from participating in the coolie trade.
## Farewell Address
The Chinese community presented a farewell address to Sir Arthur Kennedy, expressing their gratitude for his good governance and kindness. The address was read in Chinese by Mr. Lee Sik Chuen, and Sir Arthur Kennedy responded in English.
## Response from Sir Arthur Kennedy
Sir Arthur Kennedy thanked the Chinese community for their address and expressed his gratification at their confidence in the government and administration of justice in Hong Kong. He stated that he had only obeyed the instructions of Her Majesty the Queen and that the Legislative Council had assisted in passing beneficial measures into law.
## Speech by Mr. Brassey
Mr. Brassey, a member of the British Parliament, was present at the ceremony and spoke in support of Sir Arthur Kennedy's policies. He expressed the universal desire in the British Parliament that all foreigners under British rule should receive just and generous treatment.
## Conclusion
The farewell address and the responses from Sir Arthur Kennedy and Mr. Brassey highlighted the good relations between the British government and the Chinese community in Hong Kong during Sir Arthur Kennedy's tenure as Governor.
Hongkong, [day] of the 1st moon of the third year of Kwang-sü, (corresponding to [day] of February 1877).
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MY FRIENDS,-I thank you very cordially for your address. I am gratified to learn that you repose confidence in the Government and the administration of justice in this Colony. I have only obeyed the instructions of Her Majesty the Queen in the adoption of measures which you consider beneficial to the Chinese Community, and the Legislative Council has cordially assisted in passing them into law.
The British nation is both just and generous to all who live under the protection of its flag. The obedience to law, and the maintenance of order, which have characterized the Chinese community of Hongkong during my administration, demands my warmest acknowledgements.
I shall always cherish the remembrance of the kindly relations which have existed unbroken between us. I bid you a respectful farewell,
A. E. KENNEDY,
I would not wish to confine my reply to your very kind address with these very few formal words. I regret greatly that I cannot speak your language so as to make myself understood to you all, but you, doubtless, through the medium of my friend on the right, who speaks English so perfectly and through the medium of the reporters, will learn something of what I desire to say to you.
You all know, indeed by experience, that the law, and obedience to the law, is the only sure and safe bond of union between all classes of the community. There are many classes, and many races in this Colony, but there is only one law.
You are all, from the highest to the lowest in this Colony, amenable to the same law; all are equal here before the law, and I believe, so far as I know and so far as I have been able to influence the administration of the law, that the same has been administered here with fairness, justice, and strict impartiality.
Mr. Brassey, as Sir Arthur Kennedy has referred to the very unusual circumstance that a member of the British Parliament happens to be present at a ceremony of this nature, I ask leave to say one or two words.
I beg to assure the Chinese gentlemen who are present as members of this Deputation that there is a universal feeling in the Parliament of England, a universal desire that all foreigners of whatever nationality or religion who inhabit the British islands or any of the dependencies of the British Empire should receive not only just but generous treatment from our Government.
Well, gentlemen, such being, as I can assure you they are, the sincere sentiments of the members of the British Parliament, it does afford to me the greatest satisfaction to have been present on this occasion, and to receive such indisputable proofs of the success with which Sir Arthur Kennedy, in his high position as representative of Her Majesty and Government of Hong Kong, has succeeded in carrying out the policy of his country.
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