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business.
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIT. improvident in its way of carrying on its be treated, in a sense, as a suspect, to be treated as untrustworthy in the matter of paying his chits for drinks and he must produce hard cash. The Hongkong Hotel and the King Edward Hotel are ¦ very big institutions. As is well known.
the Hongkong Hotel
H.E. THE GOVERNOR This is not the only instance. I was told that these chits are simply an example of the losses ineur, xd.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY-Yo, these losses which were incurred were brought up as one instance of what takes place.
HON. MR. POLLOCK At present the hotel is absolutely anonymous.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY—I did
not think it worth while to mention the
name.
HONGKONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
H.E. THE GOVERNOR-You say that the Hongkong Hotel assured you that they upon the evidence to say that the case never made any bad debts?
HON. MR. POLLOCK-No, I did not say anything of the sort.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR - What exactly did they say!
King
HON. MR. POLLOCK-The Edward Hotel said. referring to ships officers, that the chits were invariably paid as soon as they received their wages. The Hongkong Hotel said that their experi ence under the chit system-save. 10 a comparatively infinitesimal number of instances had been such as to enable them to say that the system has worked well and has been a great convenience both to themselves and to their customers. don't suppose anyone in this Council would be such a child as to suppose that the Hongkong Hotel has never made bad
debts.
know their business pretty well and say one director of one hotel said to me that in that this Bill is absolutely unnecessary, his opinion the Bill would not make any hampering, mischievous and vexatious earthly difference. In fact they preferred think it is quite clear that no gufficient to get the cash in and save the interest. case has been made out for this Bill.
The Hon. Mr. Pollock's argument regard I put it quite plainly and, adopting the ing strangers-that they would come here language of my own profession, If one and be put to inconvenience because their were addressing a Jury one would say chits will not be taken was simply grot- Gentlemen of the Jury, we ask you esque. Where in the world, except out here, would anyone tender a chit in any for this Bill has not been made out."
bar? I should like to see the face of a bar-tender in Aberdeen or Glasgow if a HON. MR. SHEWAN I did not
man offered to sign a chit for his drink. mean to speak on this Bill at all, because The people who put forward such ridicul- I considered it a very harmless little Bill.
ous arguments are merely wasting our I certainly did not expect such floods of time, and I and another hon. member have eloquence as have been, poured forth about heen murmuring for some time at the way such a small matter." The Hou Mr. we have been kept from our own busi- Pollock says that this is quite obvious and
nesses. It has been a storm in a teapot, that is quite plain. but it is quite obvious much ado about nothing. the two hotels who have hired solicitors that this opposition has been got up by
to speak for them. And it in a very bad case when you have to use bad arguments and especially when you have to, go to solicitors to find arguments against any particular question.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR- -Do you remem- Police Court where two Chinese were had her a caso very amusing case at the up for some offence. One hired a solici- tor and one did not, The magistrate fined the man without a solicitor $10 H.E. 75 GOVERNOR I only wished and the man with a solicitor $100. The to know what was said.
argument apparently was that the man who could afford to pay a solicitor could afford to pay the bigger fine. I beg your pardon for interrupting you, but this case was brought to my mind by your remarks.
HON. MR. POLLOCK - It would carry more weight or it might carry less weight if we knew which hotel it was. We cannot be expected to give much weight to one hotel having a collection of chits if we do not know what hotel it is. At all events, it would seem on the face of things that that hotel must have given somewhat unwise and reckless credit, They do not seem to have run their busi- ness on the careful conservative lines of the Hongkong Hotel and the King Edward Hotel. These hotels--and as I say I have also spoken to two of the directors of the Hongkong Hotel-appar- eatly have very decided ideas that they don't want this Bill. What does it come to 1 We are asked to pass this Bill on that bag of chits which comes from a hotel of which we don't know the name- at least, I don't and the name has not been disclosed to the other members of the Council and we are asked to put that in the scale and to weigh down these two hotels which come out very frankly and show perfectly plainty and clearly what it is they object to the inconvenience. which will result from the abolition of the chit system. It seems to me absurd. It is just like saying that you will pay more attention to an anonymous letter in the newspaper than to two letters signed by two well-known residents of high standing. On this anonymous hotel's collection of chits we are asked, as I sub- they want drinks before dinner the hat is the question of drinking in bars, Colonial Secretary referred to the case of mitted in the commencement of my speech will have to produce cash unless they to create quite a new class of offence. We happen to be residents of the hotel also are asked to say that although a stranger It is, therefore, not quite correct to say may come in and get credit at the stores that this Bill only affects visitors. when he goes to the Hongkong Hotel he will also affect a good number of resident most put down cash. That stranger, if in the Colony. Now we have dropped the he is put up as a member of any of the consumption of liquor question it all clubs of the Colony, may sign chits there comes to this. Do the Hongkong Hot for drinks, bus when he comes to a hotel and the King Edward Hotel know their a special distinction is made and he is to business or do they not? They claim 1-
H.E. THE GOVERNOR-This matter is really a very simple one. We are dealing with the law under which persons are licensed for the retail sale of intoxicating liquors. That is a very remunerative permission given by the Government, and is one full of responsibility.
The per- under an annual license and the Govern mission is only given to a certain number ment is fully entitled without any notice whatever to review the license or to vary the conditions of the license in anyway it This Bill is brought forward thinks fit.
for a very simple reason and object. The reason goes with the obiect and that is why it was not thought necessary to HON. MR. POLLOCK. I hope nothing
elaborate the point in the Objects and that I said would give rise to a supposi
Reasons. The object is to prohibit for tion like that, that the Hongkong Hotei
sale, except for cash, intoxicating liquors. in its life has never had bad debta. Both
We are not accustomed, nor are we re- these hotels say they do not wish for this
quired, to set out all the arguments we Bill. Why should we, because of this has HON. MR. SHEWAN I was merely try- are going to produce. We did not embark of chits brought forward by a hotel the ing to point out that the arguments of upon this legislation with any grand- name of which is not disclosed-why in Mr. Dodwell and Mr. Pollock are very motherly or grandfatherly object of the name of common-sense should we pass had indeed and require the support of restricting the consumption of alcoholic this Bill, putting not only strangers com two solicitors in this Colony to liquors, but our attention has been drawn ing here but also residents to trouble and help
them out. I won't go into to very serious irregularities under the inconvenience! As is well known, a nu all the arguments, but will take one or existing law. The honourable member ber of residents go to the Hongkong Hotel
two. I cannot compare myself with the who represents the Justices of the Peace when there are performances at the
seems to have overlooked entirely all the theatre. They go to the Hongkong Hote Hon. Mr. Dodwell and the Hon. Mr.
Pollock in
instances except one which the Colonial and have dinner in the grill-room.
most things, but of one
The thing I know as much as they do, and Secretary gave of irregularity.
Laughter.) I have been longer in the olone for one thing and I know this that the argument that men will leave the hotels and go to the clubs for drink suggested is all nonsense. The men who frequent the bars of hotels are not the men who belong to the clubs at all. The hotels will lose nothing in that way.
I
an individual in this Colony who went round drinking far more than was good for him. If he had had to pay cash he could not have injured his health in the way he did. He absolutely broke down. His friends had to pay his chits, and a paternal Government had to ship him our of the Colony. Why should we be called upon to pay a man's passage out of the
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