COPY.
C.O.
16557 Race REGo 27 JUN 19
460
Hon. Col. Secretary.
I can see nothing but vague statements in the enclosed. The narrator does not give any particulars either as to a given person or as to the means by which the gentry were to be enriched. For what offence do you propose that they shall be punished, in the event of any evidence being forthcoming.
You will remember that the tentative ordinance is framed from your own proposition in your report. Assuming that you have evidence that the gentry and elders were actively participating in the opposition, how do you propose to deal with them? And if they are considered unfit to be entrusted with local power, how do you propose to constitute the district courts? The new area must be worked on the lines recommended by you, or it must be administered on identical lines with Hong Kong. Have you considered the additional cost of the latter plan?
(sd.) H.A. BLAKE.
3.5.99.