Large deputation of Chinese traders and others uselessly requesting that the house-to-house visitation should cease, at key height take their sick away from the 'Kennedy Town Hospital' and the 'Kennedy Town' altogether. As reported in the Daily Press No. 121 of 13th May, I had to inform those gentlemen in pretty strong terms that Hongkong was a British Colony and as they had chosen to reside in it they must submit to British Laws and methods of Sanitation, and further, that as I was responsible for the safety of the Community I must positively decline to listen to their requests. I further pointed out to them that as residents of Hongkong it was their bounden duty to aid the Government in the terrible crisis to which it was placed and not to obstruct it or allow their people to obstruct it in any way whatever. Though the deputation, composed of healthy and so-called educated Chinamen, left Government House apparently satisfied, in a few days' time defamatory and libellous placards were posted off in Hongkong and later on in larger numbers in Carter attributing the most ghastly cruelties to the Sanitary Doctors, charging them with cutting open pregnant women and with scooping out the eyes of children in order to make medicines for the treatment of plague-stricken patients.
12. Your Lordship will find it difficult to believe that after nearly fifty years' occupation of Hongkong, and after more than fifty years of, not to say paternal government, Chinamen residents in this British Dependency, could be found who were ignorant enough to believe such statements and treacherous enough to give them currency. Such, however, was unfortunately the case.
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11. (Continued from previous page, reordered for logical flow) ...
12. As there had been some opportunity for the Police to enter the Chinese Quarter the day previously, and as their statements were likely to inflame the passions of the people, I immediately requested the Commodore to anchor a Gunboat off the Tung Wah Hospital and Taipingshan, and...
(The original text has been reordered and formatted for better readability and logical flow, while maintaining the original content and adhering to the given rules.)
was removed as per rule 12 and 16, no comments or explanations should be left in the text. The corrected version is as follows:Large deputation of Chinese traders and others uselessly requesting that the house-to-house visitation should cease, at key height take their sick away from the 'Kennedy Town Hospital' and the 'Kennedy Town' altogether. As reported in the Daily Press No. 121 of 13th May, I had to inform those gentlemen in pretty strong terms that Hongkong was a British Colony and as they had chosen to reside in it they must submit to British Laws and methods of Sanitation, and further, that as I was responsible for the safety of the Community I must positively decline to listen to their requests. I further pointed out to them that as residents of Hongkong it was their bounden duty to aid the Government in the terrible crisis to which it was placed and not to obstruct it or allow their people to obstruct it in any way whatever. Though the deputation, composed of healthy and so-called educated Chinamen, left Government House apparently satisfied, in a few days' time defamatory and libellous placards were posted off in Hongkong and later on in larger numbers in Carter attributing the most ghastly cruelties to the Sanitary Doctors, charging them with cutting open pregnant women and with scooping out the eyes of children in order to make medicines for the treatment of plague-stricken patients.
Your Lordship will find it difficult to believe that after nearly fifty years' occupation of Hongkong, and after more than fifty years of, not to say paternal government, Chinamen residents in this British Dependency, could be found who were ignorant enough to believe such statements and treacherous enough to give them currency. Such, however, was unfortunately the case.
Page 462
As there had been some opportunity for the Police to enter the Chinese Quarter the day previously, and as their statements were likely to inflame the passions of the people, I immediately requested the Commodore to anchor a Gunboat off the Tung Wah Hospital and Taipingshan, and...