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Emigration Office was held up as an example to be imitated, in
instructions issued to his subordinates by a former Governor-
-General of the Liang Kuang Provinces and that the thorough-
-ness of the measures taken here for the protection of the
emigrant are appreciated by influential Chinese Officials. It
would be well therefore in the interests of emigration if the
employers of the Malay Peninsula were advised to look to Hong-
-kong for their supply of labour and to obtain it through this
port, whether it originates from the inmediate neighbourhood
or even from Swatow and Hainan, and if they were discouraged
from seeking other sources of labour. An increase of emigra-
-tion through Hongkong will add in many ways to the trade and
shipping of the Colony and should bring prosperity to poverty-
-stricken districts in China accessible from this port.
I have felt it desirable to point out
in some detail the objections there are to the proposal of the
Eastern Trading Company to recruit Chinese labourers in Shan-
-ghai. But I propose to address you more comprehensively on
the whole subject of Chinese emigration, in a later Despatch.
I have only deferred doing so in order that I may have an
opportunity of discussing the subject with Mr. Barnes, who has
had a wide experience in the Straits Settlements and Federated
Lalay