CO129-394 - Governor Sir May & Public Offices - 1912 [12] — Page 181

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authority that these merchants actually organised the boycott and

23

they are

de closely associated with the Sze Yap Association, which

I mentioned in my Despatch of the 16th. instant, they had no difficulty in enlisting the sympathies of political agitators in order to intimidate the population which used to patronise the Tramway and are still, as I am informed, anxious to patronise it.

The boycott of the Tramway, therefore,originat-

-ed in an attempt to frighten the Government from action such as the prohibition of the circulation of Chinese coins and the con- -sequent removal of one medium of menipulation of exchange and the possible removal of a second by the rehabilitation of Hongkong Subsidiary Coins, and this action must I submit force the hand of the Government to take the decisive step of dealing with foreig

silver coins as it has successfully dealt with foreign copper coins. On this subject I shall address you in a separate despatch.

But it is possible that if that decisive step

is taken it may not, although welcomed by the majority of the Chinese community and especially by the working Classes who now suffer much injustice and loss by being paid in depreciated currency, stop the boycott in aid of which political bias has most inadvisedly been invoked. I say inadvisedly because I have good reason to believe that many of the Chinese who helped to support the boycott would now gladly see it ended but have not the power

to stop it.

But it is impossible to permit a conspiracy

to defeat the law and at the same time to ruin a Commercial

enterprise which is of immense benefit to the community, to succeed. It is this consideration which justifies the Bill where- -by the Government may acquire the means to keep the Company alive till the Chinese population comes to a more reasonable frame of

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The European population are completely unanimous that it is imperative, if this Government is to main- -tain its authority in the future, that it should at all costs

support the Tramway Company and see the matter to its conclusion.