2

3 198

concurrence in

General Hope Grant's

views

2.

that the Chinese in this colony could

the ne

furnish the

necessary

material for

its defence in the shape of soldiers, I ventured to add that, looking to the loyalty and wealth of the Chinese in Hongkong, Her Majesty's Government might count with confidence

on

obtaining from the local community the whole of the requisite funds, I have

the honour to enclose

use

of-

The number of the male

adult British subjects (not of the Chinese

race) has declined from 342 to 336. The smallness of this number shows the difficulty of forming a very effective volunteer corps in Hongkong. A fair

proportion of the Portuguese race here

would be

willing

to

serve as

Volunteers,

and to constitute a corps of riflemen,

but the want of a naturalization law

in this colony prevents them from volunteering

in its defence.

for

the

Lord Carnarvon's

Defence

AS

some

8 copies.

obtained this

and

year

of

statement....

copies of the Census returns

recently addressed to the Legislative

Council

on the

of the colony.

progress

and population

8 copies.

3.

from

The most important fact

however established by the Census returns and the returns relating to the

transfer of business premises of late years,

is the

growing confidence of the

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