Pó Leung Kuk, the Tang Wa Hospital, and the District Watchmen Committee. I can only say that anything I have done to help all these institutions has been done with great pleasure, and I shall always be glad to think that anything I have done has been of assistance in helping these institutions to carry on the excellent work with which they are entrusted. I am sorry, gentlemen, that I am about to leave Hongkong and to leave behind me here those whom I have known for many years, and among whom I have made so many real friends. But, gentlemen, the distance from here to Weihaiwei is not very far, and I trust that when I am there I shall have the pleasure of meeting any of my Cantonese friends at Weihaiwei. (Applause.) I have a great belief, gentlemen, in the enterprise of the Cantonese race, and, without wishing to say anything with regard to the other races in China, all I can say is that I trust I shall have the pleasure of seeing Cantonese enterprise in Weihaiwei. I can assure them that if they would only come there I shall be only too glad to offer them a very hearty welcome. (Applause.) I thank you most sincerely, gentlemen, for the very kind references you have made to my wife. There is a general but very false impression that the Chinese have not that high respect for their wives which exists among people in Western lands (Laughter.) That is a false impression, for my knowledge of the Chinese has told me that the wife in China, as in any country, exercises a very wholesome influence over the Chinese community in Hongkong. (Renewed laughter.) I thank you, gentlemen, very much indeed for the kind references you have made to my wife, and I can say I heartily echo everything you have said in regard to her. (Applause.) Gentlemen, it was not necessary for you to present me with this book in order to keep the memory of you green. Nevertheless, I have much pleasure in accepting this book, and when I read it in Weihaiwei it will serve to remind me of the many pleasant days and years which I have spent in this Colony and of my many friends in the Chinese community, who have always proved to me loyal and ready to help whenever I have asked them for assistance. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I now say good-bye, I trust that before long many of us will meet again, and when we do meet, if it is in Weihaiwei, I shall be only too delighted to encourage as many as possible to stay. (Applause.) Now, gentlemen, as the Po Leung Kuk has done me the honour of presenting me with a separate address in Chinese, I shall, with your permission, read my reply to them also in Chinese. (Hear, hear.)
The reading by Mr. LOCKHART of his reply to the Chinese address was received with loud applause.
On the call of Dr Ho KAI three cheers and a "tiger" were given for Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart, after which the meeting dispersed.
PRESENTATION BY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AND STAFF.
At the conclusion of the above function another similar ceremony took place, the Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart being presented with an illuminated address by the members of the Legislative Council and Government Civil Staff. The Hon. W. Meigh Goodman, K.C., Chief Justice, presided, and among others present were—Hon. A. W. Brewin, Hon. R. Murray Rumsey, R.N., Harbour Master; Hon. A. M. Thomson, Hon. Dr. Ho Kai, Hon. C. P. Chater, Dr. J. M. Atkinson, Principal Civil Medical Officer; Dr. J. W. Clark, Medical Officer of Health; Mr. F. J. Badely, Acting Captain Superintendent of Police; Mr. F. A. Hazeland, Police Magistrate.
The CHAIRMAN said Mr. Lockhart, the members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and we, your fellow-members of the Civil Service in this Colony, have asked you to meet us here to-day, so that we might have an opportunity of bidding you a kindly farewell before you leave Hongkong to take up your new appointment in Weihaiwei. We thought it better to do so to-day, rather than to delay until you were in the midst of the hurry and worry incidental to embarkation, and we have prepared a short address which will be read to you and which will, in due course, be forwarded to you, when the list of signatures is complete. As the hot weather approaches, one always hears the annual cry, "What a number of people are leaving this season.” But I am sorry to say that, this year, we have not only to face the usual "migration" on leave, but we are losing, for all time, many whom we would have gladly retained in our midst. (Applause.) The familiar face of Sir Thomas Jackson, Mr. Thurburn, Mr. Palmer, Dr. Hartigan, Mr. Gillies, and many others will be sadly missed by Hongkong residents, and in addition to our other losses we are, next week, to lose you, Mr. Lockhart, our genial Colonial Secretary. (Applause.) Men of the Mark Tapley order no doubt try to cheer themselves with the proverb that "There are as good fish in the sea as those which have come out of it," but the difficulty is to catch them when you want them, and, as we get older, we are inclined to feel more and more that "a good bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." But we can quite understand that long and excellent service as Colonial Secretary ought to mean "Promotion," and we are all, for your sake, heartily glad that you have gained it. That absolutely restless thing, Time, leaves its marks upon all of us. I believe the ancients depicted it as an old man carrying an hour-glass and a scythe. Through that glass the sands of all our lives are running rapidly, but in your case, at all events, the hour-glass has to be reversed and a fresh lease of life, and, no doubt not, one of still increased usefulness and happiness is accorded you, in other scenes of action (Applause.) I presume the scythe was suggestive of reaping, and we doubt not that in your case the harvest will be, as it should be, one of happiness and satisfaction, because the good and healthy seed you sowed long ago and fostered by hard work and energy has now ripened into the golden grain of public approbation-(applause)- as is shown by the numerous farewell addresses which have been presented to you.
As you not only received one yesterday, but, I believe, have also received another this morning, already, I will not tire you by prolonging my preliminary remarks, but will now read you the address which we desire to present to you. (Applause.) The address, which was beautifully illuminated and numerously signed, was as follows:-
Hongkong, 1st April, 1902.
To the Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, C.M.G., F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S.
Sir,—The Colony of Hongkong has been your home for more than twenty years, and we cannot allow you to leave the place with which you have been so long identified without asking you to accept a few words of congratulation and our good wishes. So long ago as 1878 you were appointed to a Hongkong cadetship and since that time your life has been mainly passed in this Colony and your best efforts have been directed to its interests and advancement. The services which you have rendered to Hongkong are neither few nor unimportant. In 1883, you were the Superintendent of the Opium Revenue and filled the position of Assistant Colonial Secretary and Assistant Auditor General. In the following year you became Acting Registrar-General. In 1887, two years
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