Enclosure No 5.
Hong Kong
8th December 1902.
571
sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your
letter of the 7th instant.
In the last paragraph of your letter you refer me to
page 82 of May's Parliamentary Practice, I regret to
say that the copy of this book kept in the Library of
the Supreme Court is an old Edition and does not contain
the passages you refer to in page 82 or the pages imme-
-diately preceding or coming after it.
I shall therefore be much obliged if His Excellency
will lend me for a day or two the edition you namedto
enable me to peruse the passages indicated before writing
further on this subject.
In view of the question of Parliamentary Practice
having been raised on this particular point, and pending
consideration and a decision by His Excellency the
Governor I would ask his permission, should His Ex-
-cellency deem it proper, to absent myself from attend-
-ing the Meeting of the Legislative Council when the
Bill Public Health and Buildings,1s under discussion,
As the Council meets tomorrow at noon I shall be
greatly obliged if you will kindly let me have a reply
at your earliest convenience on the point mentioned in
the preceding paragraph of this letter.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
Attai
Sir
John
Keane Bart
Private
Secretary.