CO129-453 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1919 [1-3] — Page 150

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Reform Association do not meet with universal approval as is shown by the letters copies of which I enclose from the

Portuguese Consul, Mr. H. W. Looker, senior partner in the

firm of Messrs. Deacon, Looker, Deacon and Harston,

Solicitors, and a joint letter signed by Mr. D. Landale, an

Unofficial Member nominated by the Governor, Mr. S. H.

Dodwell, Head of the Firm of Dodwell & Co., and Mr. A. 0............

Lang, Head of the firm of Gibb, Livingston & Co., all

members of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce,

4.

The fact is that many of the leading men

in the Community view the matter from a common-sense point

of view. They recognise that the existing form of Government

is the best suited to a Colony of the nature of Hongkong and

this attitude is really in the minds of the present reformers

as they have omitted the Executive Council from the scope

of their activities. The petition forwarded in Sir Henry 32610/16. May's Despatch No. 209 of the 26th. May, 1916, proposed to

add two Unofficial Members to the Executive Council, but it

is now only desired to amend the constitution of the Legislative Council. I have seen no mention made of what would happen were the Government to be defeated by the pro- -posed Unofficial majority on some crucial question, for example the Annual Supply Bill or some matter of policy common to the whole Empire or to a certain group of Colonies. The only possible course would be for the Goverment to resign, but that it cannot do, as there are no persons avail- -able to take up the offices that would be vacant. The schane is an ill conceived attempt, which manifests itself from time to time, to upset a well balanced system which works perfectly well in practice and to substitute some- -thing which is neither democratic nor practicable, and I have reason to believe, that if I were to enquire today of the two Unofficial Members who addressed the meeting on the 9th. January and their chief supporters whether they still

maintained

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