Sessional_Paper_1893 — Page 878

[LXV]

Appendix 35.

GENTLEMEN,

REGISTRAR GENERAL'S OFFICE, 30th August, 1892.

With reference to previous correspondence, I have the honour on behalf of the Committee appointed to inquire into certain points connected with the Pó Leung Kuk, to acquaint you that the Committee has received a communication from the Honourable the Colonial Secretary informing its members "that a petition has been received from the "Directors of the Pó Léung Kuk in which they state their reasons for not appearing 'personally before the Committee, in compliance with a request made for their attendance "after their chairman had attended and been examined, to be that their various occupations "will not admit of their personal attendance without extreme inconvenience."

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The members of the Committee are well able to appreciate the inconvenience caused to persons, whose time is much occupied, by having to attend to matters which do not directly fall within the sphere of their own business relations, for, in conducting the present inquiry, they themselves are experiencing an inconvenience of that very nature. But, while they are desirous to incommode as little as possible the Directors of the Pó Léung Kuk, they are most anxious to have an opportunity of personally questioning them, or at any rate two or three of the representatives of the Directorate.

Without such personal attendance and without such examination, some of the members of the Committee feel that it will be difficult to form a satisfactory opinion on the draft incorporation bill, which has been referred to them for inquiry and report, and on the general working of the Pó Léung Kuk.

Under these circumstances the Committee feels sure that the Directors will not be unwilling, on further consideration, to attend in person even at the risk of a certain amount of inconvenience, which it is hoped may be minimized by the Directors selecting a day and hour which will be most suitable for them to be present at a meeting of the Committee, and by the Committee endeavouring to render it unnecessary for them to attend on more than one occasion.

The Directors,

PÓ LEUNG KUK.

I have, &c.,

J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,

Chairman.

HONGKONG, 20th September, 1892.

SIR,

We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th ultimo, and, in reply, to acquaint you that, owing to the absence from the Colony of some of us, we have not had an earlier opportunity of meeting together to discuss the subject matter thereof. We are very much obliged to your Committee for not wishing to cause us more inconvenience than necessary, but, at the same time, we cannot help expressing our surprise that, after the Committee have had submitted to them from us a memorandum on the working of the Society, and after our Chairman has appeared before them and been examined thereon, they are still desirous of having an opportunity to question two or three of us. We regret that we cannot bring ourselves to agree with