Sessional_Paper_1893 — Page 805

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Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.Then you do not know how many members there are in the Society to-day?

Honourable Ho KAI.-No, except by the new list of subscribers issued last year. Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.--You refer to the special subscription of $30,000? Honourable Ho KAI-Yes, but they become members as soon as they sub- scribe a sum of more than $10. A subscription of $20, $30, or $100 entitles thein to membership. We are not dealing with the new members and no doubt many who subscribed last year were members in 1881. We found no other book from 1881 until last year which had any reference to membership. We should have mentioned it if we had found any. We specially asked the Clerk of the Pó Léung Kuk and he said that there was no other book.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-That being so possibly the Clerk could be called up at our next meeting to give us that information as to the number of members.

The CHAIRMAN.-But we have got it.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-I should like to know the number of members during the first and second and every other year.

Honourable Ho KAI.They do not know themselves.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-If they do not know they can state that they cannot give it.

Honourable Ho KAI.-They have stated it to us.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-That does not appear in your report.

Honourable Ho KAL.-No, but you can put the question to us and we can answer it because we asked the Clerk about it.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.-It is positively the case ?

Honourable F. H. MAY.-Yes, they said there were 120 members the first year.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD. And no members have since been enrolled as members of the Society-no Chinese have been enrolled in any one year since the first year until 1892 ?

Honourable Ho KAI-I do not say that. I say there is no record in the Clerk's books to show.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.--Although there may be no record it is possible that there were members enrolled?

Honourable Ho KAI.-There has been no enrolling. If there are no records there cannot be any enrolling. I think the history of the Society is that first of all the work was carried on-before the Society was formed--by the Tung Wa Hospital and when the Society was formed they carried on the operations in part with the Tung Wa Hospital. The inmates of the Society were put into the Hospital at the expense of the Hospital. Consequently all the members of the Tung Wa Hospital became members of the Society, since they had to support the Society at an annual expense of $3,000 or $4,000. I think the Chairman can tell us whether it is generally the case that the Chairman of the Tung Wa Hospital was also Chairman of the Pó Léung Kuk Society. I think you will find that it was stated to be so.

The CHAIRMAN.-No, I think as a rule they had separate individuals; not the same person as Chairman of both Institutions.

Honourable C. P. CHATER.-The Chairman of the Pó Léung Kuk when he was before us said that it was always done by election among themselves.

Honourable Ho KAI-I think I remember that when Mr. WONG SHING became Chairman of the Tung Wa Hospital he was also elected Chairinan of the Pó Léung Kuk