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SUNDAY LABOR IN HONGKONG HARBOUR,
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of cargo during Sundays, by vessels engaged in the local coast trades, could be dispensed with if the officers elected. It therefore rests with individual officers in the Coast trades to seek that privilege from their respective employers.' This proposition from the Chamber of Commerce is impracticable for this reason, that an individual officer is not independent enough. If he went to his owner and said 'I wish, myself, to stop Sunday labour.' I have no doubt his owner would say Yes, you may have your Sunday, but at the same time would probably tell the Captain to discharge the officer at the end of a certain time as being a man that was objecting to the idea of Sunday labour. With regard to ocean steamers, the Committe say: The incidence of Sunday work on officers in those services is less frequent than with the Coast. They may, and no doubt frequently do, escape Sunday in this port. While on the average duration of an Ocean voyage, say 4 mouths, an occasional Sunday's work in Hongkong does not appear to the Committee to present an intolerable burden to officers. With Ocenn vessels touching at Hongkong the working of cargo in port on all days must be considered one of the incidents of the voyage." With regard to this argument we must tell you that the so-called océan steamers after arriving in Hongkong are practically const steamers, especially one line of steamers of which Mr Mackintosh is the local manager-I allude to the well-known blue-funnel line. They go to Shanghai, and then they very often go into Fonchow, Swatow and Amoy. When these steamers pass this port going up they are practically coasters. Of course they have as much right to the coast as any one else. Mr. Mackintosh says that coast officers might possibly get this Sunday exemption. Now, Sir, suppose if one of these ocean Steamers gets here on Sunday and a regular coast steamer arrives here at the same time. The owners of the regular coast steamer have probably given their officers this Sunday exemption, but the owners of the ocean steamer, as implied in this reply, have not given their officers this exemption. Accordingly this steamer can work against the coast steamer to the detriment of the latter. consider that all steamers should be put on one fair footing. We are not afraid of competition, but let it be fair. For that reason we, as an Association, beg of you to pass a compulsory law, of course with the exceptions which your Excellency and the Government may think fit to make; for instance, steamers leaving here with live cargo, or arriving here with perishable articles, ferry boats and all that sort of thing. We do not expect the total cessation of Sunday labour. We think a law might be passed here which could exempt this thing and at the same time do away with what we consider an injustice to ourselves. According to the reply of the Chamber, the fact of a man working on Sunday when he arrives here is merely an incident of the voyage. Now we do not think so. We think this being a British Colony, a British Mercantile Marine Officer ought to have his Sunday here as well as in other ports, as he has it even in the ports of China. The Chinese Government, or those who made its Customs rules, fare considered the feelings of the Europeans in their employ; and in the coast ports Sunday labour is practically stopped. Before you are allowed to work on Sunday you must show good reason why Europeans should be employed. The Chinese Government, probably under the advice of Sir Robert Hart, or his predecessor, had enough respect for the feelings of their European employés not to force them to work on Sundays. In this Colony we are morally forced to work. I look upou it merely as a relic of heathenish customs. There is another point raised by the Chamber of Commerce. They say that the stoppage of Sunday labour in the harbour would in particular injuriously affect the large Chinese population connected therewith. Now, we who are on board ship know that the Chinese boat population, the owners of cargo boats do not object to Sunday rest. ask them to work on Sunday they charge extra. There is no provision in the regulations for this extra charge, but as a matter of custom they do make it. I can also tell you that the Chinese artisans in the employ of the Dock Company, who lve probably hundreds of these artisans, receive double pay for Sunday labour; and they would not work on Sunday unless they received that pay. That shows us that the Chinese themselves, at least a certain portion of them, object to this Sunday labour.
It has been stated there might be some fear of disturbance on account of so many Chinese being made idle. We are sure, Sir, that these fears are quite groundless.
If
you
CAPTAIN ASHTON-I do not know what is the opinion of your Excellency, but our opinion, from what we can see in the harbour and what we know as people who are frequently about the harbour, is that there is not the slightest danger of
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any serious objection on the part of the Chinese. The Chinese object to anything They are a very Conservative people and believe in 'olo' custom, but the moment innovations are established they fall in with them and take thene as a part of everyday life. There is another point in the Committee's reply I wish to refer to, and it is this: They practically tell us that this British Colony of Hongkong is a place to be avoided, a place that it is lucky to escape from! They say in one place that they (the officers) may, and no doubt frequently do, escape Sunday in this port. And in another place they speak of the infrequency of the incidence of Sunday work occurring in this port. It cannot, surely, be that this Colony of Hongkong, which has been gained for us by the blood of our forefathers- as we all know, as we read on the monument on the cross-road-is a place for us to escape from! As a body of British Officers, we, Sir, rather think that this is a place where we should find an asylum and a protection, especially for our religious feelings. And when you touch a man's religious feelings you touch his very heart, his very nature; and these men tell us that this place, which our forefathers bled for, this British Crown Colony, is a place to be escaped from. It ought far rather to be a place to come to and be sure of the protection of Her Most Gracions Majesty, whoni we love and honour, whom we would die for if necessary, and whom we consider not only our Queen but the defender of our Faith.
His EXCELLENCṛ--I am very glad, gentlemen, to see you here to-day and to hear the views you have expressed on an undoubtedly very important subject. There is one thing, I believe, in which we are all agreed, and that is that if Sunday labour, carried on to the extent to which it is carried on now in Hongkong, could be diminished, such a thing would be very desirable; but then the point arises whether any interference with it should take place, and if so, in what way such should be done. Now, there are only two ways in which this interference could be brought about. The one is to have recourse to compulsory legislation and the other is by voluntary combination among those who are interested in shipping, to in some extent diminish it. As regards the question of compulsory legislation, you must be aware of the views that have been expressed both by the Governor of this Colony, Sir William Des Voeux, and also by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, and you will also be aware of the conclusion that has beeu come to in regard to that question by the Secretary of State. The matter was brought forward before the House of Lords, I think, some time in July last, and Lord Knutsford then ande a speech--made some remarks in reply to a question that was put, and in these remarks he stated that he had come to the conclusion, after hearing the views of the Governors of Hongkong and Singapore, that compulsory legislation was not desirable. It would therefore be impossible for me to accede to the request that has been made to me to-day, namely, to make a promise that legislation should be had recourse to, even if I differed from those who have expressed a contrary opinion, which I may say I do not. The other mode in which interference with Sunday labour could be brought about, and in my opinion the only feasible one, is by voluntary combination and earnest endeavour of those who are concerned in the shipping interests in this Colony. Now a great many arguments have been adduced and some have been alluded to in the communication you have been good enough to read to show the impossibility of doing away with Sunday labour bere." I candidly confess that 1 do not altogether agree with some of these arguments, As regards our Chinese population, no doubt a Chinaman who does out regard the Sunday in the same way as we regard the Sunday, will naturally work on the Sunday if he is offered. remuneration to do so. In other words, if encouragement is given to him to work But I do not think that is soven days in the week instead of six, ho will do so. limited to Chinamen. I think if we go to other conutrics where Sunday labour is not as a rule carried ou, we shall find a great many in these countries who, for the sake of gain, would be ready to work on the seventh day if opportunity were afforded them to do so. We know perfectly well that all work cannot be stopped on a Sunday in Hongkong more than it can in any other part of the world. There is certain work which it is absolutely necessary to perforin on Sundays, and it is absolutely necessary that a certain amount of labour should be had recourse to; but I think from the fact that in many other countries Sunday labour does not exist, at all events not to the extent, or nearly to the extent it does here, proves that there are a great many things done here that need not necessarily be carried on on Sunday. The whole question therefore seems to me to resolve itself into this--are those who are interested in Sunday labour, who
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