CONFIDENTIAL.
C.O.
140
5443
RECO
RFG15 FEB 13
Sir,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG. 15th. January, 1913.
3491/12-13.
With reference to my Confidential Despatch of
the 23rd. ultimo, I have the honour to transmit the enclosed copy of translation, received from His Majesty's Minister at Peking, of an extract from the Chinese Official Gazette on the subject of the election by Chinese resident abroad of members of the Chinese
Senate.
2.
I have obtained locally what purport to be copies of the official regulations for the formation of the National Assembly and of explanatory amplifications of the same. It appears that it is proposed that the members of the Council of
Representatives shall number 596 and that the Senate shall be
composed of 274 members of whom 6 shall be representatives of the
Chinese resident abroad.
As far as I can gather the Governor-General of
the Kwangtung Province is responsible for deciding what Chinese Societies in Hongkong are entitled to a voice in the election, and has tried to solve this difficult question by asking the Chinese in Hongkong to form a single combined Association for the purpose. Apparently the approved Societies or the combined Society will be entitled to send a certain number of Electors to Peking. Candi- -dates will be nominated from among this number and each delegate will have a single vote in the election. But it is very difficult
to
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,
&C..
&C.,
&c...