(3);
say one unjust word likely to wound the susceptibilities of any person concerned, or to use a single harsh expression which might tend to prejudicially affect personal interests. Still we have a duty to the public to perform, and, notwithstanding our personal inclinations, we cannot ignore the truism that the public good is always to have precedence of private interests. In the face of the charge made by the China Mail—referred to above—and considering that the "squeezing" propensities of numerous government officials in relation to contracts have become a theme for every idle tongue in the colony, we feel justified in submitting to Sir GEORGE Bower that good grounds exist for a thorough and independent investigation into the entire system. It is little short of a scandal that the Government of Hong Kong should by its supineness be open to the bare suspicion of cloaking roguery in any shape or form.
406