cognition to the limited liability of Chinese partners in exchange for full disclosure of their identity. The Ordinance has been welcomed by the Chinese commercial community, and the Chinese unofficial members of council have informed the Government that they are of opinion that mo Chinese partnerships will register under it. It is anticipated ́also th that the Ordinance will result in an increase in the amount of Probate duty collected as registration of changes resultant on death will em ble the collector of Probate duties to discover many estates in respec of which grants would never be applied for voluntarily.
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Attorney General
Hone
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Registered Partnerships ■ Ordihance.
283
The attorney General moved the first reading of a Bill entitled,
Partnerships and to give effect to certain Chess. "An Ordinance to establish Registered Partnership Customs."
A
The Colonial Secretary seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
His Excellency-Gentlemen, the Bill which it is proposed to read a first time to-day is an attempt to solve a question which has been continuously before the Government since the year 1874. In that year the Chinese community twice petitioned the Government for a Bill to re- gister Chinese partnerships. A Bill was accordingly drafted by the Attorney General, and the clauses dealing with this matter were appro- ved, I understand, by the Chinese community. The Bill was, however, dropped, in 1875, because it was considered that it did not throughly solve the question. In 1677 and 1878 the Chamber of Commerce in its tun turn petitioned the Government to make it compulsory that members of Chinese hongs should be registered. The Governor of that day, Sir John Pope Henessey, refused to proceed with the Bill because he had been ad- vised by certain Chinese whom he had consulted that it was not advisa- ble, and the matter was again dropped for several years. In 1882 the Chinese again petitioned the Government, and again in 1891 a further petition from the Chinese was submitted to the Government, but at that time the Straits Settlements were engaged in the discussion of a Bill on identical lines. It was thought advisable to await the result of their deliberations, which lasted until the year 1896, when the abor- tive Bill was dropped in the Singapore Legislative Council.
In 1900 the Chamber of Commerce again took up the matter, and a commit- tee was appointed under the Presidency of Br. Wise, upon which both the hon. members who represent the Chinese to-day in this Council had seats. That committee reported that it was impracticalé to give effect to le- gislation on this subject, and gave as their reasons; First, the dif- ference between English and Chinese law regarding the liability of part ners in insolvent concerns. They said that the Chinese would not regis- ter their real names,
and this would lead to fraud and litigation. In