Membus of the Church of England, or not, are constantly changing. No one stays here longer than ten years, excepting in rare individual cases, unless he is compelled to stay for five years or more by the nature of his occupation or profession.
Almost everybody here is a sojourner. There is no generation that lives and dies here as in Australia or Canada. There is no ground of appeal then possible such as there would be if people settled here with their families.
(3) The Government, I am bound to say, has been very successful in its appointments, after all is said and done. It has not been, as far as I know, the real reason for the utter indifference that exists at present on the subject. During the thirty years I have been in China, I do not remember hearing of a popular Chaplain in Hongkong. The people in Shanghai have had a voice in the selection of their Chaplain for more than thirty years, to my certain knowledge, and this office is one respected in Shanghai; Hongkong has had a voice in the nomination of its Chaplains.
The appointment is made by the Colonial Office without the slightest reference to those chiefly concerned. This has been, in some cases, deplorable for the interests of the Church. Although I believe, with all due respect to the Store Government, that this disestablishment of the Church of England in Hongkong is a short-sighted policy, yet if the Government would be willing to accept the nomination...
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