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Mr. Landale, the Hongkong head of Messrs. Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd., and Mr. Shellim, the Hongkong head of Messrs. David Sassoon & Co., Ltd., as nominated members upon the Legislative Council, might not unnaturally have been expected to have some bias against the petition, but Mr. Landale informed me quite frankly that be was in favou of an Unofficial Majority on the Legislative Council and was generally in favour of the of objects of the Petition but that he thought that it would be an ungracious act for him to sign because the Hongkong Head of Jardine Matheson & Co, had always been nominated by the Government to a seat on the Legislative Council, without the necessity of any election, and that, by signing himself, he might be affecting in the above respect the position of future heads of Jardine Matheson & Co. Mr. Shellim wrote to me that he was sorry that he could not see his way to signing the Petition as he did not consider the time opportune, but that generally he agreed with it and thought that it would have a better chance if brought forward at a more fitting opportunity.
Sir Paul Chater, who, as Mr. Chater, signed in 1894, the Petition to the House of Commons which asked (inter alia) not only for a British Unofficial Majority on the Legislative Council but also for freedom of debate and voting for the Official Members, expressed his unwillingness to sign any such Petition now, on the ground that the time was inopportune because of the war.
Mr. Edkins who is in charge of Messrs. Butterfield and Swire here, without committing himself to any definite view either for or against the objects of the Petition, stated that it would, in any event, be impossible for him, as paid Manager of Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, to sign any such Petition without first referring the matter home to the partners in that firm for their decision.
Mr. Stabb, Chief Manager of the Hong Kong & Shangbai Bank, stated his view that no change of any sort in the constitution was required,
With all due deference to Mr. Stabb's view I would point out:
(i) That a former Chief Manager of that Bank, Sir Thomas Jackson, K.C.M.G. (then Mr. Jackson) signed the above-mentioned Petition to the House of Commons in 1894, at a time when he had not only been Chief Manager of the Bank for 18 years but had also had some personal experience himself as an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council.
(ii) That all the Directors of the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (except Mr. Edkins who adopted a non-committal attitude as above stated) are in general agree- ment with the Petition.
5. With regard to the suggestion that the present time is inopportune for forwarding any such Petition (which suggestion seems rather like an echo of the utterance of His Excellency The Governor, in the Legislative Council, on the 23rd December last when I first raised the question) I would beg leave to state that it is fully and clearly recognized, that under the war conditions at present prevailing, no definite answer can be expected to this Petition until after the lapse of some months, but it is nevertheless earnestly and respectfully hoped that the consideration of this Petition will not be shelved until the end of the present War, because it is felt that increased Unofficial representation on the Councils is desirable before that time arrives, in order that a Government, more representative of the wishes of the business men of this Colony, may be established for the purpose of dealing with any trade and shipping problems which may arise in anticipation of the close of the War.
6. I would also beg leave to draw your attention to the enclosed letter which I addressed to the four local British newspapers, enclosing a copy of the Petition, in which, in consequence of suggestions made to me, I promised that I would bring to your notice, in the covering letter forwarding the Petition, the desire expressed for a more comprehensive electoral body than the Chamber of the Commerce or the Non-Official Justices of the Peace.
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I may add that it was deemed advisable to limit the signatories to those of British Race, and that no members of the Indian, Portuguese or Chinese communities have been sked to sign, though (as above stated), a few Indians and Portuguese have signed the Petition, resumably because they considered that they were interested as possible prospective voters, nir capacity of Jurors.
7. The Chinese Unofficial Members of Council have not signed the Petition, (no Chinese being invited to sign, as above stated). In connection with this latter point, it may be observed that, if two additional Chinese Members were to be added to the Legislative ⚫ Council, in addition to the 10 Unofficial Members suggested in the Petition, the present proportion of Chinese Members to the rest of the Unofficial Members would be preserved. It should also be noted that the present Petition does not ask, as did the 1894 Petition, for a British Unofficial Majority, and consequently whether the number of Unofficials be to or be increased to 12 by the addition of two Chinese Members, it would be impossible to get an Unofficial Majority otherwise that by the combined European and Chinese Unofficial Vote. There would, therefore, be no risk whatever (as there might have been if the prayer of the 1894 Petition had been granted) of the wishes of the important Chinese community in this Colony being overruled by the vote of the British Unofficial Members outweighing the combined votes both of the Official and the Chinese Members. The power of the Governor to suspend legislation and of the Secretary of State to veto it are additional safeguards to the rights of the native population.
8. I also enclose for your perusal articles by the four Local British newspapers on the Petition when it was first published in the Press, and the comments of the leading British newspaper in Shanghai, the North China Daily News (as copied into our Local Press) and also a Leading article of the Hongkong Daily Press upon the documents connected with the Petition of 1894, which documents were sent by the Hongkong Government to the Press for publication, on the 25th January, 1916, apparently in the hope that they would adversely affect the signing of the Petition.
9. It is probably superfluous to point out that the solid Official Vote has constantly been employed for the purposes of voting down the unofficial Members, and their wishes, and I will content myself, therefore, with citing two instances from the Hongkong Hansard for 1914.
(1) On the 23rd April 1914 (see P. 39 of Hansard) the Motion of the late Mr. Hewett, in Finance Committee, in which he was supported by all the other Unofficials then present, for the adjourment of the Law Courts vote for one forinight only, was defeated by the Official Vote.
(ii) At the very next Meeting of the Council, on the 7th May, 1914 (see P. 47 of Hansard) the Motion made by me for a Commission of 5 Unofficial Justices to be appointed to inquire into the sufficiency in number efficiency and organisation of the Nursing Staff at the Government Hospitals was defeated by the Official Vote, with,
may add, very unfortunate results at the present time, for
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The Government Civil Hospital is yet more understaffed than it was then for the carrying on of the ordinary work; and is in fact seriously under- staffed in view of the annual recurrence of plague, combined with cases of typhoid and othere serious diseases; and
2. Sisters, who are due for leave and urgently require it after 4 years' work, are now unable to obtain it, and I may add that the difficulty of getting Nurses to come out to serve in the Government Hospitals in Hongkong is not in any way due to the War, for there is no similar difficulty experi- enced in getting Nurses to serve in Singapore and the Federated Malay States.
In making my Motion, on the above occasion, I said (see P. 44 of Hansard):—
"I think it is very much to be regretted that in this as in many other cases the Government of this Colony has treated the Unofficial Members in an adverse and hostile spirit instead of taking the unofficial members into their counsel and co-operation."
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