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A
to any but non-mhinese, but that it did not prevent Chinese from buying houses and living in them. I told the Secretary I would think it over, and let him know; but that even if Mr. Ho Tung were Chinese I presumed there would be no difficul ty
in getting an exemption under section 4 of the Ordinance as
Mr. Ho Tung already lived at the Peak.
8. It suddenly occurred to me however that my visit, and what I had said to the Governor at Mountain Lodge on the pre- vious Sunday might be open to misconstruction. I thereupon immediately wrote to Sir F. Lugard saying that I had unwitting-e
Rodition ly put myself in an invidious vision. This letter is the first in the correspondence, and some of the preceding para- graphs have been rendered necessary in order to explain the terms in which it was written.
9. I thought it advisable to make some enquiries from Mr, Wilkinson who I heard had acted for Mr. Ho Tung when he pur- chased his house on the Peak. I then learnt the facts related
in paragraph 4, and also that the purchase was made since the Ordinance was passed. I learnt further that Mr. Ho Tung Was
a neighbour of Mr. Wilkinson on the Peak, that the household was quiet and well-behaved, and that he had never had any
complaint to make about it.
10. Mr. Ho Tung was clearly a British subject by birth, and, putting on one side his illegitimacy, his father and grandfather were British, and I had great doubts whether the Ordinance applied to him at all. However as it seemed to me possible there might be two opinions on this question I decided to apply for an exemption. A letter from Mr. Wilkinson setting out the facts referred to in paragraph 9 was enclosed.
11. Some days elupsing without a reply, it occurred to me that possibly there was a hitch, and I therefore obtained some information about the Ordinance.
Its somewhat illogical provisions were accounted in the following way:- It seemed that it had originally been intended