taries the facts
9.
cretary of
so ascertained!
Curiously enough the Se-
State a
agrees
with the views
expressed not merely by
me, but
by the Unofficial Members and
public of Hongkong,
and in car.
-
, you
con-
demning my views and theirs, have the appearance at least, of condemning the action of that high official.
10.
Again I accept unhesitatingly your assurance that the receipt of the despatch
of the 21st April last put aside all opposition to the appointment of a Committee of Enquiry, and had
no other anxiety than that it should get to work as speedily as possible.
But it must be admitted, I think, that his first appointment was very unfortunate. It was neither within the letter nor the spirit of
the Marquis of Ripon's instructions. It was unwieldy in number, and it did not
consist of the desired majority of
persons unconnected with the Government service. It contained
members of the Government service, who, for many reasons, were most undesirable and most unpopular Members of any such Enquiry.
I said nothing on the subject at first,
but it is more than probable,
considering that his Excellency was enlightened by the public press,
he would see fit to make some change.
In reply to my first remonstrance, one Official and one Unofficial Member were withdrawn. The Committee was less unwieldy,
but still wrongly composed. If the Official Member only had been withdrawn, I should have been satisfied. As it was, none of my objections were met. The relative strength of parties remained the same.
11.
I may say here that your attack on the community generally