CO129-590-11 Commission of Enquiry into irregularities in Immigration Departments 22-4-1941 - 19-12-1941 — Page 104

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I might add on that point the fact that the complete meaning of the Executive Council's decision which I had at first interpreted as

meaning that I was not permitted to establish anything in the way of a general agency was explained to me in a meeting with H.E. the date of which I cannot for the moment quote, but which the present Col. Sec. will remember as he was also present. The meeting took

place in Government House. As matters became worse, I determined on the course of cancelling all recognitions already granted to

agencies, and then inviting the agencies still in good standing to ask for recognition again on new and stricter teras. A copy of the new terms of recognition I shall submit; the conditions as now imposed deal with three principal things the method of submission of applications (so devised as to prevent as far as possible competition between agencies, with the resultant temptation to bribe my staff, as had already been done); restriction of the charges

to be made for their services; and supervision of their practice by

the General Agent. As a pendant I, at the same time, made with the

latter a contract, already referred to by the Accountant General in the terms of disapproval which incline me to the conclusion that he had completely misinterpreted its scope. I lay before the

Commission a verbatim copy of that agreement. This new system has

apparently been the cause of more criticism than any other one detail in my administration. The criticism began almost immediately after

the coming into operation of the new agency system, and was first

voiced in a article in the Chinese press signed with name of a person who had just previously tried to bribe one of my staff to secure help in obtaining the general agency for himself. Thereafter

the criticism became anoymous, but its perennial source in the ranks

of those whom I have elsewhere called disappointed racketeers, may

be legitimately inferred from the fact that Government is called upon to close down an institution to which no one resorts except voluntarily, and which will, as a commercial venture, itself apply

the closure if it is, as alleged, inefficient and incapable of real

service to the public who go to it. Ignorance may excuse some of

the attacks on the system; but my conviction that most of it is