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if he thinks fit. The surveyor measures the ships in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the 4th Schedule, using his own discretion, and following local practice, in regard to such matters as encumbrances, exercise space etc., not
definitely provided for in the Ordinance.
彝
To deal with some of the points raised in the Harbour
Master's letter. His contention that ships sail preferably
from Anoy to swatow, because they can take a greater number of passengers from those ports is, in my opinion, erroneous.
The port of embarkation of the coolies is naturally the one nearest to the places where the coolies come from, and
vessels naturally go to Amoy to take the men collected there
and to Swatow for haochow and Hakka 200lies. It is only
a coincidence that many of the coast port emigrant ships
are provided with Hongkong licenses, and mainly because they
load back to that port from the South. It is not necessary
to take out a Hongkong license to load from Swatow to Bangkok
or balgon, and, occasionally, vessels from Northern trades,
without longkong licenses, 2008 on the berth and have to he
'measured here. In any event, the Hongkong license is not
suitable for the trade from this port, where cargo is often loaded in one or more of the passenger compartments, and the
local certificate of weasurement is so arranged in detail
that the particular compartments so occupied can be deducted
en blaz. without a reméasurement of the vessel, such as
would be necessary on the Hongkong license, which shows
aggregate figures only. The Amoy and Swatow coolie trades
are a specific business, and have no connection with the
Cantonese emigration from Hongkong, and there is, therefore, nothing to justify the statement that the revenue of the
Colony suffers by reason of the larger complements allowed
to coast port steamers, imitation of carriage from Amoy
to Swatow to the aller numbers allowed from "longkong on
the/