66
THE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE
PO LEUNG KUK.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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amongst them. Invitations to be present were also extended to a large number of the British and foreign community and the ceremony was made the orcasion of a very pleasant reunion, which, in the absence of the dark background of the previous day's proceedings at the Chinese Chamber of Com- merce might have been taken as agreeable evidence of harmonious relations existing be- tween the two sections of the population. And it is evidence in that direction, but in face of the evidence on the other side it cannot be taken as conclusive. The harmonious rela tions are only partial, not complete, the ceremonial observed at the opening of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce showing unfortunately that an influential section of the native community is unfavourable to the recognition of British rule, is glad to seize upon an occasion to flout it, and is still bound up in the ignorant superstition of fengshui.
now
The past week has witnessed interesting ceremonies in connection with two im Fortant native institutions in our midst, namely, the opening of the building erected for the acommodation of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the laying of the foundation stone of the Po Leung Kuk's new home for rescued women and girls. A very marked contrast was exhibited by the two events. At the opening of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce the ceremonial was purely native, Chinese officials were in ported to play the leading parts, the Hong kong Chinese who assisted donned official robes for the occasion, and the form of pro pitiating the fengshui of the site was gone through. The Governor recently expressed his regret that after fifty years of British rule the Chinese community of this colony What functions the Chinese Chamber of should remain so little Anglicised. If any Commerce is expected by its promoters to proof were required to show that there was discharge we do not know. If properly con- ground for His Excellency's regret it may be ducted such an institution might be useful found in the proceedings of Friday last. The in bringing to the notice of fiovernment Chinese are of course free to practise their hin Irances to trade and in pruoting im religious observances, and if they wished|provements in the commercial conditions to have a religious ceremonial in connection of the colony, but the history of its opening with the opening of their Chamber of Com- | would seem to indicate that it is more likely merce no formal objection can be raised, but to be used as a semi-political club opposed it is truly lamentable to find the native to British influence. Of the Po Leung Kuk, mercantile community openly bowing on the other hand, nothing but what is to the fengshui superstition, one of the favourable can be said. It has lived down chief barriers to progress in the neigh suspicion and enjoys the good bouring empire. Moreover, if supersti- will of every Its object is the tious native ceremonials can be dispensed rescuing of women and girls who have with in the dedication of such institutions' been decayed and the suppression of as the Tung Wah Hospital and the Po the kidnapper's cruel traffic, and its work Leung Kuk we cannot think that their is carried on as free of abusers that adoption in the case of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was due so much to intensity of religious feeling-which in fact does not exist in the Chinese mind-as to a desire to insult the established order of the colony. Why was not the Governor invited to per- form the opening ceremony instead of a native official, or, if the promoters wished to invest the proceedings with a purely native character, why at least did they not select one of their prominent merchants to conduct it instead of making it a Chinese official function? It is satisfactory to find the Hon. Ho KAI and Mr. WEI YUK declaring that, though both joint trustees of the institution, they had no hand in making the arrangements for its opening, that they were not present on the occasion, and that being British subjects they would not countenance such proceedings. The Registrar-General, we think, should look closely after this new institution, and if it be intended permanently to fly the Chinese fing the intention should not be allowed to be carried into effect. The ground on which the institution stands, it may be remarked, was given by the Government.
The ceremony at the laying of the foundation stone of the Po Leung Kuk's building on Saturday was in agreeable contrast to that which marked the opening of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Many of the names prominently associated with the one institution appear also in connection with the other, but it would seem that the pre- ponder ace in the counsels of the two bodies lies with different sections holding diverse viewsThe Po Leung Kuk is in a measure connected with the Registrar-General's de- partment and the investing of the ceremony with a semi-governmental character perhaps could not well have been avoided, but we are pleased to think that there was no desire to avoid it and that it was with genuine pleasure the majority of the members of the Society saw the Queen's representative
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of any large public institution well can be. This was established by the Com- mission of Inquiry appoinifd by the Government a few years ago at the re- quest of the Hon. T. H. WinBEAD, and that gentleman himself, whose criticisms at the time were warmly resented, became convinced of the utility of the Society during the course of the investigation and ou Saturday he gave the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new building the countenance of his presence. matter of fact Mr. WHITEHEAD rendered a great service to the Society when he moved for his Commission of Inquiry, as its supporters were thereby enabled to justify the existence of the institution and to remove the last shred of suspicion that rested upon it. We cordially wish the Society all success in its laudable work,
As a
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SIR NICHOLAS OCONOR AND HIS
LACK OF INFORMATION..
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富春
(January 22, 1896.
remencement and nev found it necessary to deviate from it to any material extent. The Yokohama paper says "it must be admitted "that if the Japanese were theoretically persuade of their enemy's incapacity they never practically relied on the "belief," which is only to say that they acted in accordance with the prudential military maxim not to despise the enemy. It is always necessary to be prepared for the unexpected, but in this case the unexpected did not happen and the Japanese estimate of the conditions of the campaign were fully justi tied. Now it so happened that their plans, together with the approximate dates on- were to be which important movements effected, became known in a certain up- official quarter and were communicated to the Legation, but the Minister, while acknow- ledging the receipt of the information, intimated his incredulity and continued his impassive attitude. His manner, in fact, was so supercilious as to discourage all further communications of a like kind, so that when information reached the same quarter as to the despatch of the secret mission to Russia it was communicated direct to the Foreign Office in London instead of through the Minister at Peking, and no one was more surprised than the WANG CHIH- latter when he heard of it. cnux was duly sent on his mission, carrying the secret treaty with him, but the St. Petersburg Government thought that the particular objects in view could be better secured by an unwritten understanding than by a treaty, for the reason that the out- side world can he kept in ignorance of be modified or the former, which can carried into effect as circumstances dictate, whereas a formal treaty is attended with the disadvantage that it may afford objecting parties a ground of protest. The treaty therefore was not ratified by the Emperor of Russia, but was replaced by an under- standing, which is now in course of being Of the negotiations carried into effect. between Rusia and China, however, the British Legation at Peking was in complete ignorance, although in certain quarters out- side the Legation their general tenour was well known The charge against the British Minister of inability to collect inforniation would appear therefore to be well founded, not only with regard to China's military strength, but also with regard to her diplomatic relations with other Powers.
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On one point, however, we must admit. that the case put forward by our Japan contemporary succeeds, namely, the un- possibility of foreseeing the collapse of China's Navy. One of the chief "duties of the British Admiral, our porary says, is to communicate to the Queen's representatives in Tokyo and Pek-; There appears in the Japan Mail a de- ing everything that he discovers, everything fence of Sir NICHOLAS ONOR on the that he knows, hut The most mistaken man in the East was the British Admiral. charge of his alleged incompetence to collect knowledge, whereby Lord ROSEBERY'S "On the very eve of the war, having pre- Government was left in total ignorance of the sumably ultilized all his opportunities of real value of China's military strength prior scrutinizing the naval forces of the hel
The line taken is that to the recent war.
ligerants, he declared unequivocally that all Governments alike were in a state of "from every point of view the Chines ignorance upon the subject and that even "seemed to possess a better fighting wa Japan, with her exceptional facilities for "chine, and to be better qualified to use it, Pronounced by an learning the truth, did a low any evid-than the Japanese. ence of despising China's strength when she expert indubitably qualified to judge, who entered the couibat; in short, that China's might venture to traverse such a jádg-
"ment." collapse was a surprise to the world at large
The Admiral's estimate of China's and could have been foreseen by no one. fighting machine may be accepted, but We do not agree with our contemporary. owing to the rottenness of her administrative There were any persons who at the outset system, under which peculation flourishes of the war predicted for Japan precisely the the machine was out of gear and unfit for walk over she enjoyed. As to the Japanese use. Probably the Japanese with hijeir themselves, they had the programme of the excellent intelligence” department,” “knew~~ campaign carefully mapped out at the com-that, but few if any Europeaus anticipated
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