COPY.
Memorandum on the desirability of Hongkong adopting Zone Time.
Quietly and without any public notification a standard time has been adopted in the Eastern part of China, and is now in use from Newchwang to Swatow, up the Yangtze as far as Hankow, and at Weihaiwei and Tsingtau.
In addition Zone time is in use in Japan and in the Philippine Islands.
A great and important progressive movement has thus been inaugurated in the Far East.
Introduced now, when railway development in China is in its infancy, none of the usual inconveniences connected with the initiation of its introduction are felt.
Put off until different railway systems were running, with traffic tables adjusted to local time, the difficulties in the way of obtaining the necessary co-operation for its introduction would be immense.
Now in the future expansion of this system a check exists. Zone time is in use as far South as Swatow. But at Canton and the West River Ports it has not yet been introduced owing to the interdependence of these places with Hongkong. It is seen that considerable inconvenience would occur were an attempt made to establish a standard time in this part of China except it was done in co-operation with Hongkong and Macao.
Until these ports agree to the adoption of Zone time an obstacle exists in the way of the further expansion of the system in China.
This check has more than a local effect. For until the Western limit, on the coast, of the 8 hour Zone is decided...