No. 653.
(18)
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong,
11th June, 1880.
Sir,-
1. I am directed by the Governor to inform you that your despatch will be duly transmitted to the Secretary of State.
2. I am further to say that His Excellency has no intention of withdrawing the usual grant for the City Hall for the year 1880, and that provision for the same was duly made in the estimates. But the Governor is advised that the legal estate under the lease for the City Hall is vested in Mr. Ryrie, who is the sole surviving lessee, and who stands also in the position of a trustee for the purposes for which the lease was granted by the Government.
3. Under these circumstances, His Excellency is of opinion that, pending the settlement of certain questions at issue between Mr. Ryrie and some members of the Committee as to the management of the institution, the proper course is to cause the Government grant-in-aid to be paid into the hands of the gentleman who appears to be in point of law responsible for its proper application; the more so because His Excellency is not aware of any authority under which the Committee could assume to manage the institution, or to expend the grant, otherwise than under Mr. Ryrie's control and direction.
4. With regard to the particular question upon which a difference of opinion prevails between Mr. Ryrie and other members of the Committee, as to which His Excellency has already expressed his concurrence with Mr. Ryrie's view, the Governor desires me to say that he is authorized by the Secretary of State to suggest the possibility of trying the free opening of the museum for a period, say, of six months, with the option of reverting either wholly or in part to the existing arrangements, if the proposed change should be found to cause annoyance or inconvenience. In doing so, I am to express the hope of His Excellency that the Committee will see its way to the adoption of the suggestion, and so remove all causes of difference between themselves and the Trustee.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
(Sd.) FREDERICK STEWART,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
The Hon. W. KESWICK,
Chairman, City Hall Committee,
&c., &c.
(19)
City Hall,
Hongkong, 14th July, 1880,
Sir,
I am directed by the Committee to acknowledge your letter of the 11th June addressed to the Hon. W. Keswick, the Chairman, in which you state that provision has been made in the Estimates for the usual grant to the City Hall in 1880.
With reference to the 3rd paragraph of your letter, in which you state that His Excellency the Governor is of opinion that "pending the settlement of certain questions at issue between Mr. Ryrie and some members of the Committee as to the management of the institution," the grant should be paid into Mr. Ryrie's hands, I am instructed to point out that His Excellency appears to be under a misapprehension, as there is no question now pending between Mr. Ryrie and the rest of the Committee as to the management of the Institution.
With regard to certain questions raised by His Excellency at the end of last year, Mr. Ryrie's views did not coincide with those held by his co-committee-men, he having seconded a resolution which would have set apart the whole of certain days in the week for Europeans and other whole days for the Chinese, instead of allowing both to attend daily, the Chinese in the mornings and Europeans in the afternoons. The whole question of admission to the Museum was discussed very fully and finally settled by a majority, at the Special Meeting held on the 1st December, 1879, in accordance with the understanding come to between His Excellency and the Committee, and at which meeting the Chief Justice and the Bishop were present.
Since the new rules as to the admission of visitors were agreed to, no difference has arisen between Mr. Ryrie and the rest of the Committee, and the latter regret that they are unable to adopt the suggestion made in the 4th paragraph of your letter.
The new regulations were so fully considered, and the majority was so clearly in favour of them, that the Committee are unable to see that any useful end would be served by trying the experiment suggested, and would ask that the despatch to the Secretary of State sent to the Government on the 18th of May last, if still in His Excellency's hands,
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