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brokers' clerks; there are about the same number of Chinese, and about twenty Parsees and Indians, not including those al- ready counted amongst the brokers. The petition purports to come from all sections of the community, and the fact that the pro- moters have been able to secure only a bun- dred and fifty-five signatures shows how numerically weak the opposition to the Bill is. It is true a number of very influential names are found amongst the signatures, but a larger number of equal influence are absent. The opinion of the community may perhaps be fairly gauged by the bauks only two out of seven supporting the oppo- sition. Siguatures have been very carnest- ly canvassed for, and the promoters of the petition have taken care to shield it from the nipping frosts of public criticism by withholding it from publication, but with all their tender care and solicitude they have only been able to raise the movement to feeble proportions. They have even gone so far afield in their search for signatures as to secure that of Mr. FALES, the United States Vice-Consul at Amoy. It is not long since a British Minister was re-called from Wash-i ington for interfering, in what seemed 'a very harmless way, in the domestic poli- ties of the United States, and we really cannot see what right the United States Vice-Consul at Amoy has to sign petitious relating to the legislation of this Colony. However, the weight of a petition is to be judged more by the character of its argu- ments than the number of its signatures; if the arguments are forcible in themselves it i is unnecessary to dwell much on the char- acter or standing of those by whom they are advanced. But in the petition under notice. there is no weighty argument whatever. The earlier portion of it is made up chiefly of misstatements on matters of fact, and when the petitioners come to argument so little can they find to say that they are driven to plead that the measure should be disallowed because it will be some trouble to the seller of shares to look in his ledger or safe to ascertain their numbers or marks!
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