The Daily Press.
HONGKONG, JUNE 12TH, 1882.
MEETING OF "PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE LAND QUESTION."
A meeting of "persous interested in the land question," convened by advertisement, was held at the City Hall on Saturday afternoon. The advertisement stated that the meeting was called "for the purpose of discussing the reasons which have led to the withdrawal of native capital from the colony, and proposing resolutions which may have the effect of ameliorating the present unfor tune state of affairs." European capitalists were "earnestly requested to attend." There was a fair attendance of Chinese-over a bandred, pro- bably-amongst whom were Messrs. Ho Amei, Lee Sing, Wong Kwong Tong, Lee Tuk Cheong, and Cho Yu Ting. There was also a sprinkling of Europeans including the Hou, F. B. Johnson, Messrs W. H. Mossop, R. G. Alford, T. I. Bowler, W. M. Morganu. W. Danby, S. G. Bird, F. D. Sassoon, O. P. Chater, G. Sharp, H. Wicking, J. J. Francis, E. Georg, E. Beart, D. E. Caldwell; and others.
Mr. Ho AMEI read the notice convening the meeting, and stated that he had been re- quested to send in the requisition for the use of the hall. He proposed that Mr. JOHNSON take the chair.
Mr. Johnson declined the office of Chairmau, and Mr. Sassoon and Mr. Chater, who were afterwards proposed, also declined, and most of the Europeaus at this stage left the room.
Mr. BEAST proposed that Mr. Ho Amei should take the chair, and Mr. ALFORD seconded the proposition, observing that Mr. Ho Amei, who had managed the affair from the commencement was the most suitable person to act in that capacity, Mr. Ho AMEI then took the chair, and said that before proceeding with the business the meeting bad assembled to discuss, he must say he felt proud that they had such a large gathering of respectable merchants and rich householders present to consider this matter.
Mr. Mossop asked, before the chairman went into the business of the meeting, to be allowed to call his attentiton to the two notices by which the meeting was summoned. They were both in English and Chinese, and one made its appearance the previous day. In both the English was to a similar effect, but in the Chinese they differed. In one of them it was stated that the meeting was convened by the Committee of the City Hall, and be wished to state there publicly that that Com. mittee had nothing whatever to do with the con- vening of the meeting. Their permission was asked by the leading Chinese residents for the holding of a meeting in that Hall, and that was the only way they were interested in the matter. He (Mr. Mossop) was directed by them to protest against the statement in Chinese, that the meet- ing had been convened by them.
The CHAIRMAN said the meeting was not ex- actly convened by Chinese; the application for the use of the hall for the meeting was signed and sent in by himself, but the meeting was not for Chinese only, but was for the inhabitants of Hongkong generally.
Mr. MossoP-Will you be good enough to tell the meeting that it is not convened by the Committee of the City Hall
The CHAIRMAN-Certainly, the meeting is not convened by the Committee of the City Hall. The CHAIRMAN went on to say that they were there for the purpose of approving of certain i measures which would be brought forward for
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the interest and welfare of Hongkong. Of course he had no sympathy with the land speau- lators, but the depression which affected every other business in this colony was brought about in the first instance by the land speculation. His countrymen were largely injured by the speculation, and he believed a few foreigners were also affected, having followed in their steps with the covetous idea of getting rich in a day or a month. They bought property at a rate which brought in three or four per cent. upon the outlay, and they borrowed money at the same time at the rate of 10 or 12 per cent. interest. This he (the Chairman) considered to be a suicidal system. When they were buy- ing and borrowing at such rates, the income of their rental would not pay the interest upon their loans. So they were cornered with difficul. ties in the way of getting out of their blunders. When they came to this condition, suspicion was at last aroused as to the stability of their invest. ments, and bankers who had been advancing money, withdrew their loans. Previous to their doing that the foreign bankers had trusted the native bankers to the extent of more than three million dollars. In this sum he included the advances made by all the foreign banks together; but at the same time there were deposits with the nativo bankers made by Chinese capitalists to the extent of seven million dollars, as far as he could learn. He would show them that before the excitement arose, and before the crisis occurred, there were altogether over thirty Chinese banks in Hong- kong, and the average advances made by these banks to the Chinese merchants, as well as mak- ing advances to these honse speculators, was from $300,000 up to as high as $800,000, so that independently of the three million dollars advanced to the Chinese by the foreign bankora the native bankers alone, with the Chinese deposits, had capital to the extent of over ten millions. However, the crisis came, and the foreign bankers Brst of all withdrew their money, and when this rumour spread, and pame to the ears of the Chinese capitalists in Canton and Fatshan and else. where it was very wise of them--they took the same precaution as the foreign bankers, and rushed down to Hongkong and withdrew their loans, even sacrificing their interest. What was then the outcome of these things 7 The result was the complete paralysis and stagnation of the trade of Hongkong. Before this speculation took place, the insurance companies, as wall as the banks, advanced money on proper.y on mortgage at eight, or as low as seven per cent., and were only too glad to get it. Now they Saw the Chinese cornered-these land specu- lators - they came forward and told them that their time was expired, and unless they paid 10 or 12 per cent., they mast repay the loan, otherwise the property would be put up to auction. He thought that under the present circumstances they ought to assist those reckless speculators out of their diffi. culties by advancing them money at say five, siz, or seven per cant. interest, and they should not charge them any higher than eight per cent., be- cause as a rule, when helping others, they were helping themselves. He should not have come for. ward to make that speech but that he knew how their business was decreasing. He knew Chi- nose who used to get credit for $100,000 from Jardine's or Sassoon's for A month, but they could not now avail themselves of thia. ! Formerly if they got $100,000 for a month, they managed by the end of the month to get $50,000 from the goods, and the remainder from the banks -$5,000 from one, $10,000 from another, and so on--to meat Jardine'a or Sassoon's bill. Now they could not do it, because they said, they could not meet the payment when it became due, and the consequence was that the pur chases and sales between Chinese merchants and foreign bongs were less and less every
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