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got if a minority man can get round the decision of the Committee. The case of your own Chamber of Commerce is the same. Also please hear in mind the case of the "Willing Horse "-he may prove restive.
I dare say you will put this view of the case before your Cone- mittee. Very sincerely yours,
F. T. PIGGOTT.
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The vacation is useless to ns as solicitors as far as regards taking advantage of it by going away. There is always a certain amount of office work, Police Court, Summary Court and Conveyancing work to be done and we must remain here to do it.
We therefore hope that the Chamber will express an adverse opinion to the proposed extension.-Yours faithfully,
HONGKONG, 10th February, 1908.
DEAR SIR,-We understand that it has been proposed that the Long Vacation established by Ordinance No. 5 of 1898 shall be extended for a further period of one month. By that Ordinance it was enacted that the following vacations should be observed, viz.: the Long Vacation from 20th September to 17th October (27 days) Christmas Vacation 24th December to 1st January (8 days) Chinese New Year Vacation (5 days) and Easter Vacation (7 days) in all 47 days in the year. To this 47 days must be added 32 Saturdays and 52 Sundays, three race days Whitmonday and the August Bank Holiday, Empire Day and King's Birthday. That is to say that on 158 days out of 365 the Courts are not sitring and another 30 days are now proposed to be added making 188 days or over half the year. We would submit that the proposed extension of the Long Vacation or indeed a long vacation at all is not needed in Hongkong and further that it is harmful. It must be borne in mind that the vast majority of cases in our Courts are between Chinese who do not understand and never can be made to understand why lengthy vacations are necessary. They have been accustomed in the past to prompt settlements of their cases and if such prompt settle- ments are delayed as they must be if the proposed extension of the vacation is carried through they will lose confidence in our Courts,
Some of us can remember the time before the Vacation Ordinance of 1898 was passed. At that time the Courts worked year in and year out and there was no complaint from the Judges the Bar the Solicitors or the litigants.
It may be said that in England there is a Long Vacation lasting from the 1st August to the 12th October besides Christmas and Easter Vacations. This is perfectly true but it must be remembered that the Judges in England do not get one year's leave in every 3 or 4 and that during the sittings they are infinitely harder worked than the Judges here. The sume remark applies to the Bar.
HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
HONGKONG, 19th February, 1908.
Six-I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 17th and 30th December last, alsó one under date of the 15th instant, on the subject of the lengthening of the Vacation of the Supreme Court proposed by His Honour the Chief Justice.
I regret that some unavoidable delay has taken place in replying to your letters on this subject but the Committee of the Chamber con- sidered it desirable, in the interests of the public, to make full inquiry into the matter before definitely expressing an opinion on the subject.
So soon as it was heard that the question of extending the long vacation had been referred to my Committee by the Government several Members of the profession personally approached the Committee, and a letter has been received signed by 8 solicitors' firms representing half the firms in Hongkong.
The Committee after carefully considering the question can only come to the conclusion that it is neither in the public interest to enlarge the existing official list of holidays of the Supreme Court, nor that i good case has been made out by the advocates of this scheme.
The Committee consider that the letter already referred to so clearly explains the objections against the suggested change that they caunot do better than forward a copy for the consideration of His Excellency.
The Government having done the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce the honour to consult them on the subject, it only remains for me to add that my Committee wish to express their appreciation of this fact, and to state that in arriving at the decision they have, they have been solely influenced by what they believe to be in the interests of this Colony at large.-I have, &c.,
E. A. M. WILLIAMS, Secretary. Hon. F. H. MAY, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary.
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