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Should this request be granted the Legislative Council would certainly have from time to time a most undesirable official element who would not command public confidence, and the most important interest in the Colony would not be represented, but on the contrary, possibly be singled out for discriminatory treatment.
A working majority of unofficial Members of Council I do not contemplate for a moment the possibility of such a request being granted, and I base my opinion on the following considerations. Looking to the importance of Hongkong not only from a commercial point