CO129-416 - Public Offices - 1914 — Page 304

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came into force but does not now curtail forward busi-

ness to any very large extent. It has, however, made

brokers more cautious in accepting clients and may also

have made clients more cautious in choosing a broker,

It has also discouraged, by making them more hazardous,

large schemes for unduly inflating or depressing the

price of the shares of any particular company.

2. My own opinion is that the Ordinance has been

a useful one and that it is still doing good. Its

operation being negative, it is probable that its full

effect is not realised at the present time.,

3.

Brokers complain that it favours dishonest

clients at their expense and contend that a bona fide

transaction, in which the broker merely acts as the

intermediary between two principals buying and selling

shares forward, ought to have the protection of the law.

4. As regards the fom of the Ordinance, it might

be deemed advisable, in the case of Shanghai, to make

its provisions extend to the shares of all companies

dealt in there. As drawn, it is practically limited to

the shares of companies registered in Hongkong or the

United Kingdom. It might also be strengthened by

rendering