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the estates of deceased persons all it ought. My first
difficulty was that we received every Monday from the
7
Registrar General only the names of those persons whose
deaths occurring in Hong Kong had been registered in his
office and as many of the better and richer Chinese
merchants or landowners go to their homes on the mainland
when they believe themselves seriously ill, their
names when they die cannot be furnished to me
I
gave instructions to the members of the Chinese Staff
and the bailiffs who are constantly in communication
with the Chinese,to let me know whenever they heard of
any respectable or wealthy Chinaman of Hong Kong dying
on the mainland.
13. More than this while on vacation leave in Australia
in 1884 I obtained the forms and notices used by the
Internal Revenue office in this matter in reference
to the estate of deceased persons and the value thereof,
and submitted them to Sir J. Russell (then Mr. Justice
Russell) to Dr. Stewart then Registrar General and
Protector of Chinese and to Mr. Lister Colonial
Treasurer both these latter being also members of the
Executive Colonial. I need not speak of the experience
They were all against anything further being done in the matter, for an enquiry
to be of any real value must be a searching one, and if
so, it would harass the Chinese, would alarm them as
they would not understand its object or would attribute
other motives than the real one and would most probably
give rise to abuses the policy of Government has
always been to interfere as little as possible with the
Chinese in certain matters and has always endeavoured
to convince them that under British rule their persons
and property were secure they wished by all legitimate
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