278
NOTES AND QUERIES
This mounting criticism did not escape the notice of the Chinese community. A public meeting was held at their Hall in November, 1875 to discuss allegations against the Hospital occasioned by the Committee's interest and concern regarding a plan by the Dutch Government to recruit labour for Sumatra.
The Editor of the China Mail had pointed out that there was "a vast difference between a reasonable recognition of native merchants and permitting them to interfere with and almost override the action of duly qualified officials". It was charged that the Governors in their relations to the Committee had failed to preserve the proper reserve toward representatives of the Chinese community which had led them "to regard itself (the Committee) as fully competent to regulate all affairs of Church and State". In receiving deputations from the Committee and in consulting them directly for advice, the Governor was by-passing the channels previously created for communication between officialdom and the Chinese community, namely the Registrar General or Protector of the Chinese. The result was that there had arisen an imperium in imperio which threatened the whole structure of colonial administration in Hong Kong.
The meeting of the Chinese to consider these criticisms was attended by some 300. Eight propositions were presented for discussion and decision. The particularly relevant ones were:
(2) Should the Hospital Committee in the future participate in anything which affected the interest of the Chinese Community at large.
(3) Whether the Committee should cooperate with Government in suppression of gambling, kidnapping and transmission of women abroad for immoral purposes.
(4) Had the Committee usurped the authority of local officials.
(5) Was the Hospital a guild detrimental to the interest of the Community.
The decision was "yes" to the first two and "No" to the last two. (China Mail, Nov. 13 and 15, 1875).
Suggestions had been made in the press in 1873 in discussing the hiring of detectives by the Hospital Committee to assist in detecting kidnappers that, rather than have a body such as the Tung Wah in charge of such matters, "it would probably be wiser to give the Chinese a recognized status in regard to local Government, by
278
NOTES AND QUERIES
This mounting criticism did not escape the notice of the Chinese community. A public meeting was held at their Hall in November, 1875 to discuss allegations against the Hospital occasioned by the Committee's interest and concern regarding a plan by the Dutch Government to recruit labour for Sumatra.
The Editor of the China Mail had pointed out that there was "a vast difference between a reasonable recognition of native mer- chants and permitting them to interfere with and almost override the action of duly qualified officials". It was charged that the Governors in their relations to the Committee had failed to preserve the proper reserve toward representatives of the Chinese community which had lead them "to regard itself (the Committee) as fully competent to regulate all affairs of Church and State". In receiving deputations from the Committee and in consulting them directly for advice, the Governor was by-passing the channels previously created for communication between officialdom and the Chinese community, namely the Registrar General or Protector of the Chinese. The result was that there had arisen an imperium in imperio which threatened the whole structure of colonial adminis- tration in Hong Kong.
The meeting of the Chinese to consider these criticisms was attended by some 300. Eight propositions were presented for dis- cussion and decision. The particularly relevant ones were:
(2) Should the Hospital Committee in the future participate in anything which affected the interest of the Chinese Commu- nity at large.
(3) Whether the Committee should cooperate with Government in suppression of gambling, kidnapping and transmission of women abroad for immoral purposes.
(4) Had the Committee usurped the authority of local officials. (5) Was the Hospital a guild detrimental to the interest of the
Community.
The decision was "yes" to the first two and "No" to the last two. (China Mail, Nov. 13 and 15, 1875).
Suggestions had been made in the press in 1873 in discussing the hiring of detectives by the Hospital Committee to assist in detecting kidnappers that, rather than have a body such as the Tung Wah in charge of such matters, "it would probably be wiser to give the Chinese a recognized status in regard to local Government, by
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