150
8
Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941
COLONIAL REPORTS.-ANNUAL.
would meet with approval. The false hopes thus raised in the coolies' minds bore bitter fruit; for, of course, the proposal when placed before the Government was unhesitatingly rejected.
The compliance with it at such a juncture would have been a complete victory for the rebellious coolies, the consequences of which could not have failed to prove disastrous to the Colony for many years to come from whatever point of view the circumstances are regarded: disastrous to health and sanitation, for the modification proposed would have been a decided obstacle to the smooth working of the very necessary byelaws; disastrous to trade and commerce, for success in this strike would inevitably have meant a succession of strikes in future years; and, far worse than all, disastrous to the future peace and good order of the Colony. It was perfectly clear that the strike was not an economical one, but was in fact nothing short of a rebellion on the part of a large section of the inhabitants against the law and the Government. This rebellion, it is true, took the form not of active opposition but of passive resistance, but it was perhaps all the more difficult to terminate on that very account. The moral effect of the slightest display of weakness on the part of the Government at such a crisis would have been harmful beyond all calculation and would have resulted in a disastrous legacy to future administrations. It is a commonplace that the Chinaman, judging others by himself, as a rule regards every concession as a sign of weakness, and had the coolies gained their point in this case, it is certain that they would have looked upon themselves as masters of the situation on any future occasion in which their wishes might conflict with the will of the Government.
The circular, however, was issued by the committee, containing what, to the Chinese mind, amounted to a pledge that Government would accept a compromise. The result was that the strike, which showed signs of collapsing, continued.
On the morning of the 30th March a large number of coolies resumed work in the expectation that the compromise referred to would be carried into effect. When, however, it became known that it had not been accepted by Government, they left off work again, with the exception of the hands at the sugar refineries, who had never been very determined in their attitude. The coolies engaged by the Captain Superintendent of Police the previous afternoon for certain shipping firms did not keep their engagements, and before noon of the 30th March the strike had re-assumed its acutest form.
On the 1st April matters once more appeared hopeful. Early in the morning of that day the police succeeded in hiring 350 coolies for various firms at $1 a day. A public meeting was held at 11 a.m. at which a vote of confidence in the Government was passed, and later in the day an agreement was made by the stevedore who had, as has been mentioned, in the preceding week approached certain firms, to supply stevedore coolies to the Government by whom they were let out through the agency of the police to all who required their services.