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2. Your Excellency's administration will always be associated in our minds with much personal kindness, consideration, and hospitality, as well as with the memory of a constant and assiduous attention to facilitating the course of public business.
3. We are glad of this opportunity of acknowledging the great services your Excellency has rendered to the cause of good government in this Colony by your successful efforts towards a larger and fairer representation of its community, and a more effective control of our finances. We have lately learned with pleasure the progress made in our greatest public work, the extensive scheme for improving the water-supply of the city. We cannot but regard with satisfaction the rapid and indeed wonderful development of this Colony, both during the past forty years and as it is proceeding at present; and we are happy to think that the day is not far distant when the defences of Hongkong may be considered commensurate with the magnitude of the interests to be protected. We join with your Excellency in the fervent hope that the public works commenced, and the changes inaugurated during your administration will bear ample fruit in the future to the permanent benefit of the Colony,
4. We rejoice that a tedious and desolating war has been brought to a close, and the difficult questions raised by it happily terminated. We congratulate your Excellency on the success with which you maintained the difficult attitude of neutrality during the serious crisis forced on this Colony by conflicting interests of international importance.
5. In cordially reciprocating your Excellency's kind expressions, we can only hope that every administration of the Government of Hongkong will be marked by an observance of the same sound constitutional rules which have invariably guided you, by the same healthful freedom of speech and abundant opportunity for debate, and by the same avoidance of any tendency to infuse private views and individual fancies into the legitimate current of public business.
6. With these words we respectfully bid your Excellency Farewell, hoping that you may long enjoy the rest earned by more than a quarter of a century's service, and that your unequalled experience may be found of service in the Councils of the Empire.
C
147
Ex closure 2.
ہم
EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF HONGKONG,
ON DECEMBER 16TH, 1885.
PRESENT:
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR
(SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, G.C.M.G.)
HIS EXCELLENCY THE MAJOR-GENERAL COMMANDING (Major-General WILLIAM GORDON CAMERON, C.B.)
The Honourable the Acting Colonial Secretary, (FREDERICK STEWART, LL.D.)
17
the Attorney General, (EDWARD LOUGHLIN O'Malley.)
""
the Colonial Treasurer, (ALFRED LISTER.)
the Surveyor General, (JOHN MACNEILE PRICE.)
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Read the following Minute by His Excellency the Governor :-
His Excellency the Governor, being about to depart from this Colony on a lengthened leave of bsence, desires to place on record on the Minutes of the Executive Council, his sense of the valuable vice and loyal support which he has invariably received from Major-General CAMERON and from all Members of that Body. The amount of useful and practical work of importance which has been complished during the Governor's administration of less than three years' duration, exceeds that eviously accomplished in so comparatively brief a period, certainly in Hongkong, and probably in Most other Colonies. This success could not have been achieved without the cordial assistance of the ability, experience, and public spirit of the Major-General Commanding the Troops, and of the rentlemen at the head of the Chief Departments of the Civil Government, who for this Council. The Governor tenders them collectively and individually his thanks, and his good wishes for their future welfare and happiness.
The Governor further desires to take this opportunity of mentioning that he has presented to the Library of the Executive and Legislative Councils some eighty volumes of books, chiefly useful works of reference, selected from his private library.
The Major-General Commanding replies as follows :-
I beg to tender to Your Excellency, on behalf of myself and the other Members of this Council, our best thanks for the compliment you have paid us. I think that, under the presidency of Your Excellency, this Council has at all times enjoyed perfect harmony and freedom of speech. I do not think one unpleasant word has ever passed at our meetings, while we have been perfectly unrestricted m our discussions. I know that I rightly interpret the feeling of the Council in expressing my sense of the ability and courtesy with which Your Excellency has directed the course of our deliberations, nd the administration of the affairs of this Colony. We cherish the hope that you may, on the expi-
tion of your well earned leave of absence, return to preside once more over this Council.
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True Extract.
A Seth.
Clerk of Councils.
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