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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 26TH FEBRUARY, 1898.
His Excellency the Governor then addressed the Council as follows:-
GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,
My principal object in calling a meeting of Council this afternoon was that I might have an opportunity of announcing to you officially a fact with which you are already acquainted privately, that I am leaving this Colony on the 1st of February and that my successor will be Sir Henry Blake. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, to whom I telegraphed a few days ago, is unable to inform me of the exact date · upon which my successor will arrive in Hongkong, but I assume that after eight or nine years' hard work in Jamaica he will probably apply for several months' leave of absence. In the meantime, His Ex- cellency General Black will administer the affairs of this Government, a duty for which he is eminently qualified. I have to thank you all, Gentlemen, for the kindness and considera- tion which you have extended to me during the past six years and two months-a term of office which, uninterrupted by any leave of absence, I do not think has ever been exceeded by a Governor of any one of Her Majesty's Colonies. To Mr. Chater, the senior unofficial member, my thanks are especially due. From you, Gentlemen, I have received valuable advice, and I think I may fairly say on some occasions even unanimous support. I can assure you that I shall always look back with great pleasure upon our meetings here—and if I should ever recall any serious difference of opinion which may have occurred between the Executive and the Unofficial Members of Council I shall not forget that we one and all, according to our own lights, although we differed, were solely animated by a desire to do what we individually thought was best for the interests of this progressive Colony. Gentlemen, I bid you farewell and may every success attend you in the future, both in your public and private capacities.
Mr. CHATER addressed the Council as follows :-
Your Excellency, we have listened with much interest to the announcement you have just made, which, although not unexpected, when thus officially spoken emphasises its reality. Speaking on my own behalf and, I trust, on behalf of my unofficial colleagues present, I desire to express my sincere appreciation of the able manner in which you have for the past six years presided over this Council, and of the unfailing courtesy and forbearance shown by you to all. During your Excellency's administration many important Ordinances have been added to the Statute Book and many important public works accomplished and others inaugurated. This Council, as well as the Executive Council, has been enlarged, and the Colony thereby afforded more voice in the control of its affairs. Your Excellency arrived in this Colony at a time of deep depression. You will leave it in a condition of renewed prosperity with everything on a sounder basis; and this has come to pass in spite of some adverse conditions, namely, the continued dullness of trade and two outbreaks of plague. Under your auspices most important sanitary legislation has been carried through, greatly to the benefit of public health, though in the face of a good deal of opposition; and the city now is in a far better position to grapple with epidemics than it has ever been before. Naturally, there has been some friction occasionally and our debates at times have been very warm indeed, but your Excellency has held the reins with tact and impartiality, and now in laying them down you have the great satisfaction of knowing that you will leave the Colony better in every respect than you found it. I feel only too conscious that I am unable to do justice to the occasion, but I trust that my unofficial colleagues, some of whom will no doubt address you themselves, will supplement my feeble attempt at expressing the general appre- ciation of your Excellency's successful and popular administration, which has also been the longest since the founding of this Colony. And now, Sir, in bidding you officially farewell I have only to say that although we may not meet at this table or in this Council Chamber again, yet we shall cherish with deep and lively recollection the urbanity with which you have always presided over our deliberations, In the best sense of the term I am sure we all join in wishing you, Sir, good-bye.
Dr. Ho KAI addressed the Council as follows:--
Sir, I fully concur with the remarks that have fallen from the lips of the Honourable the Senior Unofficial Member. I have been with him in the sentiments he has expressed in regard to your Excellency. For the past six years your Excellency has most successfully presided over this Council and during that long period your consummate tact, your wise discretion, and your unfailing courtesy have promoted good feeling and harmony amongst Honourable Members and increased the usefulness of their deliberations. Whether we agreed or disagreed upon a measure or a subject, whether we engaged in heated discussion or pleasant banter, the decorum and dignity of the Council have always been maintained. During the six years of your administration we have passed many useful measures and have revised and improved a great many old Ordinances, but I venture to say that in no instance has any harassing or embarrassing legislation been passed. So far as the public works of the Colony are concerned, when your Excellency assumed office there were many useful works in progress and in point
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