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recommended, inter alia, that:-
"(a) Kristing Regulations experimental.
"The existing Firacy Regulations when originally passed "were experimental in character. In the light of experience "they have been only partially enforced though their form has "not been amended. We think that it may be found more "venient to repeal the present Regulations and substitute "others than to use them as a basis for amendment".
con-
The Commission made it publicly known that it would wel- come any suggestions from those interested and, beside those tendered by the general public, a number of colleted auggestions from members were submitted by the Guilds and duly acknowledged.
This is discussed later in this letter.
Ref. Enclosure (c).
Ref. Baclosure (d). This document shows the first attempt to cope with the matter and, in face of the recommendations of the Commission to make new Regulations, consists merely of a re-numbering of the Seations of those of 1914 with the addition of the "resist to the uttermost" clause.
It was circulated to the various interested bodies, sub- jected to much presa comment from the point of view of the travelling public and considered by a combined meeting of both Guilds by which 2 letter was addressed to the Hon. Col.Sec., dated 12th September 1923 (q.v.) in which grave exception was taken to certain sectiona of it.
From that date to the 4th February 1924 no further communication was received from, or addressed to, the Government on the subject by the Guilds, they being of the opinion that the trend of events was such an all-sufficient reason for decisive action that further correspondence would only tend to overburden and embarras the hands, already full, of those who were charged with the important duty of dealing with the subject.
Ref. Enclosure (e). This shows the final form, which scarcely differa from enclosure (a) except that the "resist to the uttermost" clause is deleted, and is to all practical intent a reversion to the original form (enclosure b.).
The correspondence and interviews with the Government will be found in their proper sequence in the enclosure a.
The position now is, that the legal machinery of the Hongkong Government has now produced something. That "something" is gazetted as the Regulations for the prevention of piracy and which has all the appearance of important and well thought out legislation, but, by a system of chopping and changing, is nothing else than the original Regulations padded with a large number of
important words. Where the import is changed, to any material extent, the document is more repugnant than ever to those who have to take all the responsibility, but whose suggestions have been contemptuously ignored.
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