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Leading Article of the "Japan Chronicle" of
11th. May, 1917.
THE HONGKONG PROPOSATIO EXCLUDE GE-MANS.
T appears from the report, now to band, of the debate in the Houg ong Chamber of Commerce on the proposal to 'exclude Germans from the Colony of Hongkong for ten
years that the meeting bad two objects in view. One was to endorse the proposal made by the Chairman | jof the Chamber of Commerce at the Legislative Council for the exclu- ion of Germans, from the Colony. and the other was to pass a vote oi censure on the Governor for what: ras alleged to be the flippancy with which he treated the proposal. T ake the latter "it is an old tanding grievance in the Colony, that the British merchants there are overborne by the officials. It must be admitted that there is some ground for the complaint. The Legislative Council presided over by the Governor is composed of even official and six unofficial mem ers, four of the latter being nomi bated by the Crown (two of whom
re Chinese), oue nominated by the Chamber of Commerce, and one by" the Justices of the Peace. It is arcely necessary to say that in the rcumstances of the case the of icials always vote together, so that t is impossible for the unofficial members to carry' a motion in the of Government opposition.
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From the representative view of go perument this seems very unjust, and if the bulk of the population
were British, or if a scheme of rej presentation coull be adopted that enfranchised the community as a whole, it would be intolerable that officials should override a decision of elected members. But, as every. one is aware, of a population of half million,
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the enormouS majority 1444,064 according to the 1911 teususĮ are Chinese, who, though they have not yet perhaps arrived at the' stage of representa ive government, must be taken Into consideration in all questions affecting the welfare of the Colony. It must therefore be admitted that a vote of the unofficial mem- bers of the Legislative Council, especially if opposed to the views of the two Chinese members, cannot be taken as representative of the Colony as a whole, but only—and | even then inconclusively-as, repre-j sentative of the British members of
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the community. As the Governer said in the Legislative Council, the Chinese own four-fifths of the wealth) of the Colony and pay 97 per cent, of the rates and taxes. Even so the British representation must not be regarded solely from the point of view of numbers, seeing that it is the enterprise of British merchants which is largely responsible for the great development of trade at that port. Nevertheless it is evident that the unofficial members of the Council cannot well ask that even FA DJI- animous vote of their number-and on this occasion the two represen tatives of 97 per cent. of the tax. payers opposed the motion-should be regarded as a vote representing! Hougkong. In the circumstances the authorities appointed by the, home Government must have a de. eiding voice. As to whether or not the Governor treated the proposal with flippancy, it must be admitted that he used some expressions which might have been avoided, but on the whole his speech was a closely reasoned argument against the 'pro- posal made, and the heated objec tion taken to his remarks indicates a supersensitiveness which is rather out of place in public discussion. A Minister answering the leader of the Opposition in a debate in the House of Commons, even war time, would be surprised to find him. self called to account for such phrases of banter as those in which the Governor indulged.
When we come to the main ques- tion itself, it cannot he said that Mr. HOLYOAK's speech in the Chamber
of Commerce strengthened the posi tion he took up in proposing his mo tion in the Legislative Council for frou the exclusion of Germans Hongkong for fen years after the war. At the Chamber of Commerce meeting Mr. Hogy explained that his original nation was largely ; academic; at the Legislative Coun eil he claimed at the protiou of the Hon Chamber of is what it Commerce-foront amounted to-shoul be regarded in the same light the wishes of Australia, Canad and New Zea laud as express at the Imperial Conference. It sem a large claim, but at any rate representatives] of those Dominis hardly regard their
academic. instruction as Replying to charge that his speech at the Council was basel largely upon sentiment, and did not take into consideration economic Haets, Mr. HOLYOAK said it was impossible to more sentiment. nd declared that the entry of Great Britain into the War was entirely [and absolutely due to sentiment.
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