ment House of the Chinese Address to the Queen, followed by that of the British community, described below. It is with a pang we have, on such an occasion, when the community were giving jubilant expression to their loyalty, to have to record, among its incidents, two regrettable accidents, the fatal results of which all must join in most profoundly deploring. Otherwise the celebration would have passed off without a single mishap to mar it. The vast crowds in the streets were most orderly, and everywhere good humour and a friendly demeanour to each other were displayed by the numerous races mingled together, while the precautions taken against fire proved happily complete and effective. The Police arrangements were admirable and sufficed to prevent either crushing or obstruction.
THE CHINESE ADDRESS. Shortly after ten o'clock on Wednesday morning, the 9th November, the beating of gongs and the arrival of a short procession bearing banners, &c., notified that the Chinese deputation were at hand. Immediately on their arrival at Government House they were ushered in and introduced by the Registrar-General (Mr. J. H. Stewart Lockhart) to His Excellency Sir William Des Voeux, who shook hands with each member of the deputation. The visitors having ranged themselves round His Excellency,
Mr. Ho Wyson said—May it please your Excellency. On this auspicious day selected for the celebration of Her Most Gracious Majesty's Jubilee in Hongkong, I have the honour to present on behalf of the British Chinese subjects and of the Chinese merchants and residents in this Colony a congratulatory address to Her Majesty the Queen, which we respectfully ask your Excellency to receive and forward to Her Majesty for Her gracious acceptance with every assurance of our loyalty and profound respect. We, the Chinese community of Hongkong, have much cause to rejoice in this Jubilee year, as the development of this Colony has been closely associated with Her Majesty's fifty years' peaceful and prosperous reign. As Your Excellency is aware, this island of Hongkong was ceded to England shortly after Her Majesty's accession to the throne, and in less than fifty years it has grown from a barren rock to be one of the third or fourth port of the whole world and gives shelter and employment to something like 200,000 Chinese inhabitants from all parts of China. Some of us have grown rich on the soil, some are earning a competent livelihood, and some are still having a hard time. But rich or poor we have all been long accustomed to receive and appreciate British justice, protection, and consideration, and are well assured that we shall continue to enjoy the same notwithstanding some occasional misunderstandings. To Her Majesty, therefore, we owe much, and the sentiments contained in the address are but feeble expressions of gratitude to, and admiration for, Her Majesty as a constitutional and noble Sovereign, and of our reverence and respect for Her Majesty as a lady renowned for domestic virtues both as daughter, wife, and mother. We are far away from England, and individually we are unknown, nor can we ever expect to be known, to our Sovereign Queen. Still Her Majesty's great name and greater deeds have long reached us, and I can honestly say that among us there are thousands who regard Her Majesty with genuine feelings of reverence and affection. With these few observations I beg to present to your Excellency the Address to the Queen, which is embroidered in silk and is a work of art the best that can be executed by Cantonese artists. Before doing so, however, I will, with your Excellency's permission, ask Mr. Ho Amei, one of our leading merchants here, to read an English translation of the Address, which has been kindly furnished us by the Rev. Dr. Chalmers. In conclusion, I beg to add that I am requested to express our regret at the absence, through illness, of our energetic leader Dr. Ho Kai, who has taken the most active part in organizing the celebration of the Jubilee among the Chinese here, and who would have performed the duty now devolving upon me much better than I do had he been well enough to come here this morning.
Mr. Ho Amei then read the following translation:--
A HUMBLE ADDRESS FROM THE CHINESE OF HONGKONG TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA. With profound reverence we beg to celebrate the Jubilee of the glorious reign of Her Majesty the Queen of England. Sacred indeed, we humbly think, is that Sovereign whose goodness and Queenly virtues will serve as an illustrious example for all times, and glorious indeed is that reign the grand achievements of which are of the intellect and not of the sword. When of old a virtuous ruler ascended the throne and attained to border's Supremacy, guests assembled from the wild and people of strange language came from the remotest corners; all with songs of protection vouchsafed by Heaven, and praises of the Empire's stability like the great mountains. Never do the people fail to look for and accept the beneficence of their gracious Sovereign; why should they be slow to express their gratitude in offerings however inadequate, and in song however poor?
O Mighty Queen of Great Britain, up to whose throne we look with awe, great has been the prosperity of thy reign and vast the blessings that have attended it! Peace reigns throughout thy dominions, and the stars in their courses manifest omens of good. Thy exalted virtues are destined to shine like a golden mirror for thousands of years. The example thou hast set, in thy palace, of noble womanhood shall live for ever. As a daughter, as a wife, and as a mother thou hast earned the admiration and praise of mankind. Inspiring with feelings of reverence the great nations of the earth and tenderly cherishing the small. Your Majesty has heroically maintained the lead among the Powers of Europe. By prolonged enterprises and distant expeditions thou hast extended thy sway until the face of thy greatness has spread over the whole world. Thy Empire has been increased not only by the addition of the vast Continent of Australia; but all the Princes of India with their enormous wealth have also enrolled themselves as thy tributaries. International law thou hast kept with conspicuous fidelity in all countries. Cordial relations thou hast maintained with friendly States in strictest accord with treaty obligations. People from far and near have rejoiced in the benefits of steamships and railways. Dwellers on land and sea have been filled with wonder at the achievements of the aeronaut and the electrician. And all these grand inventions, unknown in former dynasties, have been brought to perfection under Your Gracious Majesty's auspices. Hongkong, a little spot encircled by the waves of the ocean, formerly known only by hearsay as a fairy's rock or an inhospitable isle, has, by the persevering effort and enterprise of forty years, been developed and transformed into a great Colony, with pile upon pile of magnificent buildings—the resort of 200,000 people, Chinese and Europeans, who have to yield the way to each other in crowded thoroughfares a commercial centre of great importance where merchants great and small buy and sell and get gain. Here the bark of the watchdog arouses no alarm among a people securely protected, and even should calamity arise we are sure of the gracious sympathy of Her whose widespread benevolence is ever anxious to relieve the distressed.
We humbly beg to express our thanks to Your Gracious Majesty that worthy men have ever been selected to rule over us and promulgate Your Majesty's wise policy, which encourages everything that can benefit the people, removes abuses, lightens punishment, and abates taxation. The recollection of such love for the people will be handed down as is the memory of the apple-tree of Duke Chao. Such deeds of charity, bringing healing to the sick, surpass the glory of the orange-trees of Su Tan. Our admiration for the glorious results of long-continued wise rule passes the powers of speech.
We, therefore, Your Majesty's Chinese subjects and Chinese residents in this Colony, dwelling here in peace under a benevolent government, whose glory we look up to and whose blessings we share, while recognizing our inability to requite the many favours we have received, cannot refrain on this great occasion which we have been permitted to see, from expressing our heartfelt desire for Your Majesty's continued prosperity and happiness, and joining in the general shout of—
LONG LIVE OUR NOBLE QUEEN
O, noble Empress of the forest State
Among the Powers of Europe, who dost reign
By Heaven's decree with right divine
As doth the gentle moon the garish day
Succeed, dost thou the stronger sex supplant,
To hold the reins of State with Mother's hand,
Extending to the outer world such love
And tenderness as children share. Behold us, strangers out of far Cathay,
Right fain to seek a home within thy realm;
Where all receive unstinted bounteousness,
Through thy wise rule and worthy government.
For half a hundred years the reign has brought
Of blessings many hundreds to the race.
In feeble strains we sing the lofty theme,
And send from far the fealty of our hearts.
With faces westward turned we lowly bend,
And, offering thanks, declare our loyalty.
O, noble Empress who to all alike,
This man or that, dispensest equity,
Ascend and occupy the honoured seat
Of Love and Life for yet ten thousand years.
His EXCELLENCY, in reply, said—Mr. Ho Wyson, Mr Ho Amei, and gentlemen, it is always agreeable to an Englishman or a subject of Her Majesty to see expressions of loyalty, and It is especially gratifying when they proceed
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