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Chairman: Mr. Tseung, you have written a complaint dated 27th March which I
propose to read now.
A.
Yes.
Chairman: This letter is addressed to the Secretary to the Commission.
(Reads):- "With reference to the administration of the Immigration Dept.
I have the honour to furnish my personal evidence to the Commission and, despite every defence given by the 1.0. in the hearings, still I have some points to be raised should same be germane to the terms of reference I wrote to the 1.0. on March 8th reporting that one of his officers refused to accept my 7 completed applications submitted on behalf of friends and relatives, meanwhile drawing his attention to a few points." This is your letter: (reads):-
Sir, I have the "L migration Officer, Immigration Office, Hong Kong.
honour to report to you the case which was personally experienced by me in your Office. I do not think it is the intention of the Imigra- tion Officer to administer the Department beyond the strictest control for it might be mere excuses of the officer in office for his negli- gence of duty.
On 13th March, 1941, at 2.20 p.m., I personally entered your Office and tendered, on behalf of friends and relatives of mino, seven com- pleted applications to one of the officers 1/c at the counter, who made an alteration in one of them under item "Occupation" by putting
'; after the down "Farmer in ...." in place of "Husbandman of..... rest wore carefully read over and the whole batch was accepted and thon handed over to another officer next to him.
##
The latter officer informed me that he could not accept so many appli- cations and insisted on the personal coming of the applicants or sub- mitting the same through the Agent.
I wondered at his instructions and had to ask him the following questions:-
'Is it prohibited or even illegal to send in applications on
If it be the case, is it behalf of friends and relatives? the rulet'
he
le replied that he knew no better than/had been instructed to do so
Certainly I was not satisfied with by the Head of the Department. his remarks and requested him to bring me to see the lead for explana- tions. But I was told that the Immigration Officer was that day on
leave.
Then I had to leave your office with no alternative than to approach an agent of yours for submitting the said applications as instructed. The above report gives rise to the following points in doubt to which I humbly tender my apologies for giving you the trouble of rendering me your explanations. Is it compulsory that applications are to be submitted in person? In other words, are applicants not allowed to empower their friends or relatives as their own agents to submit the same in their behalf? Apparently it is, otherwise I would not have been instructed to ask my friends and relatives whom I acted for to come personally, or to approach the agent to submit the same for them. But I doubt whether the agents are for you or for the applicants. If they were agents for you, legally recognized, why should the appli- cants have to pay extra fees other than what are prescribed in the Schedule?
If they were agents for applicante, why should the applicants be