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Enclosure 3.
South China Morning Foot - 10th Jany 1713.
THE TRAMWAY TROUBLE.
MEETING OF LEADING CHINESE.
STRONG SPEECH BY MR. LAU CHU PAK.
the example by travelling in the cars, others who had
i That the leading Chinese in kept aloof would follow suit. the colony are taking steps to put Immediately the boycott stopped, a stop to the tram boycott was the Government would have no 'evidenced on Wednesday night, It was no use for them to say necessity to enforce the Ordinance.
whon a meeting took place in the that the Government should sus- Tung Wah hospital hall. About pend the operation of the law fifty representatives from all at once. They themselves must prove that they were not in the districts attended, and Mr. favour of the boycott, and that Lau Chu Pak was asked to take they had taken no part in it. the chair.
That the Government would sus- Mr. Lau made a
the law immediately lengthy speech on the subject, pend first of all explaining to the meet-the boycott terminated was the ing the reasonableness of and natural course of events, and justification for the law, and of they need have no fears on that the action of the Tramway Com-score.
COD-
any:
pany in collecting only Hongkong "The Chinese are boycotting coins on the trams. Ho satisfied the Tramway Company," them that even in China different tiuued Mr. Lau, "whose demand coinages were adopted by the for Hongkong coins is quite people of different provinces, and in accordance with the law. that one province refused to By so doing they are boycot- accept the coins current in an- ting the Government-at other province. As His Excel-rate the Government looks at it lency had pointed out to them on in that way." a previous occasion, Chinese
On account of the boycott, said came to the colony to make the chairman, the Tramway Com- money. He (Mr. Lau Chu Pak) pany were losing $1,000 a day. would go further and say that That meant $365,000 a year, and they came here to take shelter this sum had to be made up and; and to seek protection, so it be-compensated for somehow. hoved the Chinese in Hongkong to Why should they all suffer to the comply with the laws of the extent of paying $365,000 în extra colony. The people had become taxes to favour the boycott? more enlightened, and they ought Many of you have said it is not to see that the same style of laws a boycott," said the Chairman. in force in the colony would "I don't care what you call it, but probably become the style of the fact remains that the Chinese future China, as at the presentare not patronising the trams. time the Chinese Government Some of you say it is only the were introducing reforms on lower class who are boycotting. European lines.
Be men, and don't attribute
EMPTY RUMOURS.
everything to the lower classes. Many of the lower classes are They were not there to discuss your servants or your workmen. what the law should be in their When you send them out with opinion, or the modifications messages you pay their convey- If there is any that they wished the Government ance allowance. to make in the law which was blame now, let us share it to- already in force. They were gother. Don't blame one class there to find out some means of only. Those who are masters of protecting themselves. The shops, employers of labour or enforcement of the Boycott managers or big firms, can prove Ordinance would make not only to the Government that they the landlords, but the tenants have no interest in the boycott suffer. He was quite sure that by disallowing the conveyance the majority of the Chinese in the allowance, and giving their men colony had nothing to do with the tram tickets instead. trouble, and why should the majority have to lose money on account of the few? No doubt! many Chinese were still afraid to travel in the cars, but the! rumours which had been circulated were empty rumours. If the influential men set
RECE
C.0.
4390
47
(Real 6 FEB 13
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