CO129-193 - Governor Hennessy - 1881 [5-7] — Page 211

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the other hand, the spirit licences, and certain items under the Stamp Ordinance, probably fall more, in proportion to their small numbers, on the Europeans; but, upon the whole, I am of opinion, and I am sure you

will agree with me, that we are very lightly taxed. Hongkong is a free port; we have no income tax; we have no public debt, and we have a moderate surplus,-less than one year's income. For that revenue, which, as I say, has been a growing revenue for some years past, and that without the imposition of any additional taxation--for that revenue, what has the Government done? We have kept up, I think, an efficient police force, and there has been no stinting of money in those ordinary functions of Government represented by the various services and establishments of the Colony. Whatever has been required for getting the Supreme Court into that working order which the Chief Justice and His Honour the Acting Chief Justice urged over and over again upon successive Governors as being necessary, has now been provided. It has involved a little expense with respect to interpretation and other points. The vote for public instruction is now larger than ever it was: so is the vote for medical and sanitary purposes. I have added a new branch to the Harbour Department, the Surveyorship under our Merchant Shipping Ordinance of 1879.

Instead of $700 & year as in 1877, we now spend $10,000 a year in tree planting. In short, I don't think anything absolutely needed for the wants of the Colony has been neglected. I am bound to say, that during the four years of my Government of the Colony, whenever this Council has met I have been only too anxious to receive from my honourable friends any suggestions either with respect to prudent retrenchment or to any necessary outlay. And during these four years, there has not occurred one single division in Council. Now, my two honourable friends on my right (the Acting Chief Justice and the Attorney General) have had experience in other Crown Colonies-in Singapore and Jamaica--and I think they will learn with some surprise and gratification the fact that for four years we have never had a division in this Council.

one,

will

Perhaps there is some misunderstanding with respect to the functions of this Council. It has been asserted that an unofficial member of the Legislative Council has not the power of initiating anything, and that his position is a peculiar and somewhat discouraging one on that account. But, as a matter of fact, an unofficial member of the Legislative Council has, in that respect, exactly the same powers and privileges as a member of the House of Commons; a member of the Legislative Council can, in fact, initiate any vote or motion he pleases, with the one proviso that he cannot propose the expenditure of money. The same rule applies precisely in the House of Commons; there is no difference whatever; any motion may be made by members of Council in the form prescribed by the rules and regulations, all of which are really based on the orders and procedure of Parliament in England. Our Legislative Council, as constituted at this moment, represents the community. We have now, and have had for some time past, a Chinese member sitting in this Council Chamber. No

I am sure, deny that I was justified in recommending the Queen to appoint a Chinese member on the Legislative Council in a Colony where so much of the commercial life is conducted by the Chinese-where the wealthiest merchants are Chinese--where the Chinese possess so much property-where they are the permanent inhabitants, and where nine-tenths of the Government revenues are contributed by them. We have, I am happy to say, a representative here of the old house of TURNER & Co., and a represent- ative of the great house of JARDINE, MATHESON & Co.,--and the official members of the Council, they also represent something more than the Government; so that, as far as this body is concerned, it has, I think, every requisite a legislative body should possess for the proper conduct of public business. And that is one reason why I regard the progress this Colony has made as natural and safe. It has not been the doing of any one man. It has been brought about, in fact, by the community, and under the watchful eye of the legislature of the Colony.

I may, perhaps, take this opportunity of saying a few words upon a subject which has, no doubt, sometimes attracted your attention, and that is the allegation made that during the four years of my Government of this Colony, I have too much encouraged the Chinese. Now, I believe that the duty of a Governor in dealing with a community such as I find here, is to avoid what is popularly called encouragement of any body, or of any class, but to simply hold the balance evenly between all men. And that is what I have done. Coming here with a few years' experience, at the other side of the China Sea, of the Government of a Chinese community, I very soon after my arrival was waited on by some Chinese gentlemen of Hongkong, who frankly told me their position in the Colony. They pointed out to me that there were certain restrictions, some laid upon them, others attempted to be laid upon them, to which they objected, and they asked me, at all events, to assist them to this extent, not to allow undue or unfair restrictions to be laid on the Chinese, but to give them that same equality and fair play

any

that they thought they were entitled to with all other subjects of the Queen. I was not in the Colony many weeks when there came under my notice one most serious restriction that was about to be laid upon them, and which, after consulting them, I was able to prevent. Three days before I came to the Colony, a proposal was made which would certainly have had the effect of preventing an influx of Chinese, and probably would have driven a good many out of the Colony. It was made after Sir ARTHUR KENNEDY left, three days before I arrived, and it was submitted to me because it was assumed a certain amount of force would be necessary to carry

it out.

The Colonial Secretary himself had great doubts as to its prudence, but he submitted it to me. It was called "Rules and Regulations with respect to Chinese graves.” It was to apply solely to the Chinese. I I requested the Colonial Secretary to get ten or a dozen of the most respectable Chinese that he and the Registrar-General knew, to come to me and consider these particular rules. They came, Mr. CHUN AYIN was the spokesman; Mr. WAI AKWONG was present, and some leading Chinese gentlemen now in the Colony. When the document was translated to them, they began by saying that the rules had been framed without: consultation with them and without their knowledge. They pointed out that the rules so framed were inconsistent with their religion and their usages as regards graves and services for the dead. One of the rules to which Mr. CHUN AYIN especially objected was this, " Single graves shall not be more than 6 feet long by 2 ft. wide, nor less than 5 feet deep." Now, he and others pointed out as regards the depth, that they thought it a very good thing, and that a law to that effect, already existed in the Colony, but with respect to the provision "not more than 6 feet long by 2 feet wide," they said that their graves were always more than 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. An ordinary Chinese coffin measures 6 feet 6 inches in length, and it is 2 feet 7 inches wide at the head. The coffin of a Chinese gentleman who has received a button or decoration-and many of our merchants who have subscribed to various benevo- lent objects in China possess decorations-is 7 feet 9 inches long, and even the coffin of a Chinese is over 6 feet in length. Therefore, these Chinese gentlemen said to me," There is no neces- panper "sity for any exercise of force. The effect will be that we will go away if such rules are promulgated "about our graves." They reminded me of what occurred at Macao, and said it would drive people out of the Colony. I need hardly tell you that I put my veto on those rules and regulations, and that I have not allowed any system to be enforced that would offend the prejudices of the Chinese on the subject of their graves.

There also came before me a proposal which showed that a special restriction had been laid upon them, and which very much concerns what I said in the opening part of my remarks about the transactions in landed property. There came before me certain reports of the Surveyor-General referring to the restrictions imposed by order of the Governor in Council on the extension of Chinese premises in Hongkong. The Executive Council met to consider the reports. There was an appli- cation before me for converting certain European buildings in Queen's-road Central into Chinese structures, for building Chinese houses in Duddel-street, and there was also a proposal made by Messrs. DOUGLAS LAPRAIK & Co. to dispose of certain land for Chinese commercial purposes in another part of the Colony. The upshot of the discussion in Council was, that I was able to relax somewhat the rule that appeared to have been made---by Sir RICHARD MACDONNELL, I think it was-to restrict the building of Chinese houses, and I was able to allow Mr. CHATER to sell the property and to allow the Chinese to build their shops and stores, but, although entertaining some doubts as to the policy of not allowing Messrs. DOUGLAS LAPRAIK & Co. to sell their land to Chinese, I declined, on the advice of the Council, to permit it. But in writing to the Secretary of State I said, "I am disposed to think the "line Mr. PRICE, the Surveyor General, has now drawn cannot be maintained very long in justice 'either to the Chinese who wish to buy property or to the Europeans who wish to sell it." mitted the minutes of Council and a memorandum by one of the members who opposed the slight relaxation I made in the restriction, and who expressed the opinion that the Governor should oppose the erection of Chinese shops and houses in the European business quarter of the city, and reserve the central portion of the city for English and foreign firms. He seemed to think that the increase of Chinese I anticipated would not occur, and that the future of the Colony was to be what it had been in the early days, more of a European than a Chinese community. However, Lord CARNARVON approved so far of what I did in partially removing the restriction, and so the matter rests. The three or four years that have passed since then have only shown more clearly the impolicy, indeed, the impossibility, of trying to stem the free current of commercial life, and, by any artificial restrictions, of endeavouring In fact, such restrictions are to preserve the best parts of the town to Europeans or Americans. not merely restrictions on the Chinese of Hongkong; they are, indirectly, restrictions ou the manufacturers of Manchester, who want the cheapest and best agents here for placing their goods on the China market.

I trans-