38
39
358
great Colonies, with representative
institutions, and a large civil
population, are
manifestly inapplicable
to more Naval and Military Stations, like Hong Kong and Gibraltar. It will be remembered that
(1). Here the Military form two-thirds of the English population, and, surely not unreasonably, claim one voice out of twelve in the Colonial Legislation, by which their interests, and, it should be added, the interests of the Empire at large, of which Hong Kong is an important outpost, may be seriously affected.
(2) Experience has proved (as has been shown above), that the exclusion of the General Commanding from the Legislature and from the provisional administration of the Government has here led, directly or indirectly, to results highly detrimental alike to the Queen's service, and to the interests of this community.
(3) A system which has already twice placed, and may probably again place a Governor and Commander-in-Chief,