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of the Chamber of Commerce to oppose the Sanitary Board Bill, may I be permitted to re- mind your Excellency that only the Chamber as a whole-British and foreigners combined could give me & mandate, if such a thing were possible, and that I could not be the mandataire of a section of the Chamber. But there is on such thing as a mandate known to English Parliamentary practice. It is a foreign inven- tion, and Members of Legislatures in Great Britain and her Colonies have always refused to be the mandataires of their electors. They have always claimed, no matter by whom elected, to exercise their own intelligence on all questions coming before the Legislative Bodies of which they were members and to act accord- ing to the best of their judgment for the interests of the entire community and not according to the views of their immediate electors.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
evidence with reference to the working of the Sanitary Board, as distinguished from the expenditure under the head of Sanitation, and the Committee had actually no evidence before it at all as to the work done by the Sanitary Board during the plague nor as to its constitu tion. The only clear expression of opinion on the subject is by Mr. Crooke at page 167, and he was decidedly in favour of the Board. Such defects as were indicated and such opinions as were given seemed to point more to want of executive power in the Board and to want of a sufficient staff through want of funds than to any need for the reconstitution of the Board. The only reform your Excellency now proposes is the reduction in the number of unofficial members on the Board, and I want some evidence that the presence of an unofficial majority was the cause of its failure, if it did fail.
As to the general question, my own opinion As to Mr. Keswick's letter in the name of is that if the community was fairly canvassed the Chamber of Commerce I have already on the subject, a considerable majority of the pointed out that it was written without con- British residents would be found to be in favour salting the Chamber as a whole in any way. of a popularly elected Sanitary Board, with I find that the movement was initiated by Mr. adequate powers and an efficient staff, in pre-Keswick himself, that there was, apparently, ference to any Board on which there was an official majority, and I should be very glad in- deed to co-operate with your Excellency in obtaining a plebiscitum on the subject. It will be an immense step in advance in the methods of Colonial Government should your Excellency think well to apply it.
As to my own opinious I have expressed none as-yet in Council on the subject, except in so far as I have said, what I think the Government admit, that it is a retrograde step to have to change back from the popularly constituted Board. established in 1888, to the older form of Sanitary government by a Department or by a Board with an official majority unless there are very grave reasons to justify the step. Your Excellency has expressed yourself as favourable to popular forms of government where possible. I am open to conviction, and if the Government or the gentlemen who advocate the views and opinions of the Government are able to satisfy me on reasonable evidence that the presence of an unofficial majority on the Sanitary Board was the cause of its failure, if it did fail to perform the responsible duties entrusted to it, I am prepared to vote for its reconstitution on the lines of the present Bill or any other the Government may introduce, but I can find no evidence to that effect. The
statement of objects and reasous attached to the Bill now before the Council refers to the experience of the plague year as justifying the proposed alteration, and as the basis of the recommendations of the Retrenchment Com mittee. I was not in Hongkong during the greater portion of that year, but from what I then read in the public journals, from my letters, and from what I have learned since my return, I gather that the Sanitary Board ren- dered during that period most efficient service, and that, if never before, it then fully justified the highest hopes that had ever been placed on it. It grappled with the plague most promptly, most vigorously, and most effectively.
I have been seeking, ever since my return to the colony, for the evidence on the other side, and I can find none. Your Excellency refuses to produce the official reports and corre- spondence on the subject, and even the Secre- tary of State's letter approving of the draft Bill. You have only put forward in support of the Bill the recommendation of the Retrench ment Committee, and the letters and memoranda of Mr. Keswick, Mr. Chater, Mr. Belilios, and Mr. McConachie. These are mere expressions of opinion wholly unsupported by facts. They are, to my mind, completely countervailed by Dr. Ho Kai's very full and very able memo. randum issued with the other papers. As to the recommendation of the Retrenchment Com- mission I can only say that, however valuable the opinions of the individual members who concurred in it may be, it ought not to carry any such weight as attaches to the opinion of a public committee investigating a matter pro- perly before it. It seems to me to have been entirely outside the scope of their commission, and, what is far more important, on a matter on which they had not taken evidence. I have had the Blue Book report most carefully searched, and I can only find six pages of
no discussion of the matter at any meetings of the Committee, and that the letter, drafted by Mr. Keswick, was simply sent round to members for their individual approval, was disapproved of by Mr. Mackintosh for one, received but a half-hearted and lukewarm support, and hung fire for a couple of months before it could be got away.
Being a purely political and municipal question it was not, it seems to me, within the competence of the Chamber to discuss. The Chamber had the right to call the attention of the Government to the grave injury doue to trade by the insanitary state of the colony, but it is hardly within its com- petence as a cosmopolitan body to advise the Government as to the constitution of any of the departments of the Government, or as to the best methods of getting the Government, work done. I have the honour to be, sir, your Excellency's most obedient servant,
(Signed) T. H. WHITEHEAD. His Excellency Sir William Robinson,
K.C.M.G., &c., &c., &c.
PRESENTATION TO MR. R. COOKE,
On Saturday evening the staff of the Hong- dance at the Hon. C. P. Chater's bungalow at kong and Whampoa Dock Co., Limited, gave a Kowloon, kindly lent for the occasion, in honour of Mr. R. Cooko, the Acting Manager of the Company, and Mrs. Cooke, who are shortly leaving for home on a holiday. A large num- ber of friends had been invited to meet the guests of the evening and the dance was a most enjoyable one. The music was supplied by the Band of H.M.S. Centurion. After supper an
interesting function took place, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke being presented with a handsome tea
service.
The presentation was made on behalf of the staff by Mr. D. MACDONALD, who read the following address :-
Dear Mr. Cooke,-As the time for leaving us on a holiday drew near, a desire arose among the members of the Company's staff that we should not permit you to depart without making an opportunity for giving some slight expression of the esteem and regard in which we hold yon. We have therefore invited you and Mrs. Cooke, together with some of your numerous friends, to meet us here this evening. We would like to express to you, sir, our high appreciation of the very able manner in which you have during many years filled the various responsible posi- tions over us in the service of the Company, and we are very satisfied that while you have devoted your untiring efforts in the best interests of the Company to which we all have the honour of being attached, you have not been forgetful of the welfare and personal interests of your fellow employees. (Applause.) We have found you all that a Manager should be-firm, but generous and fair-and your tact and good management have inspired us with an enthusiasm in our work which has materially contributed to the welfare of the Company and ourselves. (Applause). As a small token of our esteem and respect, we ask your acceptance of this tea service, which we hope you and Mrs. Cooke may find useful, and may
[April 23, 1896.
you enjoy therefrom many a refreshing cup. We ask you to accept this, not for its own small value, but for the sincerity of the feeling which has prompted the gift. The workings of time, fate, and fortune's wheel must inévitably lead some of us on divergent paths, and we want you and Mrs. Cooke to carry with you this slight lasting token of the good wishes of all those from whom it comes; and in the future, when sitting over your cup of tea, may you sometimes, be able to conjure up in the wreaths of rising steam some of the faces which you now see around you. (Applause). We trust that nothing may interrupt the enjoyment of your well-earned holiday; we wish you smooth seas and fair breezes, a safe and pleasant journey home, a happy reunion with the dear ones in the old country, and may you find in your són, from whom you have been many years parted, the realization of your fondest hopes and highest ambition. May you both be given a speedy and complete restoration to full health and strengh, and when the time comes for your return to Hongkong, you may be assured of the most hearty welcome from us. (Applause).
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Mr. MACDONALD then asked the company to drink to the health of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, and the toast was received with musical honours and three cheers and a tiger, with another for
Charlie."
Li
Mr. COOKE, who was much affected, thanked Mr. Macdonald and the Company's staff for the kind feelings expressed towards his wife and himself, for the entertainment that had been offered them that evening, and for the very handsome present made to them, which they would value most highly on account of the feelings that prompted it. He spoke at some length on the diligence and devotion of the staff, which had contributed so largely to the prosperity of the Company during the last few years, and expressed the opinion that nowhere east of Suez could a finer body of men be found. Although he had taken no active part in their sports and pastimes he had taken a keen interest in them; he rejoiced in their victories and felt their defeats, though happily the latter had been very few-(laughter) and he was! proud to think that they were the champion shots and champion football players of the colony. (Applause.) He spoke also in feeling terms of the personal friendship that existed between himself and each member of the staff, and expressed his regret that Mr. Gillies, the Manager, could not join them that evening on account of his absence from the colony. He expressed the hope that his own connection with the Company would continue for many years to come, and again thanked the staff for their great kindness and the expressions used towards Mrs. Cooke and himself and their son, who, he hoped, would also be seen again in Hongkong. In conclusion he asked those who were not con- nected with the Company to join in drinking to the health of the staff of the Dock Company, excluding himself, and coupled the toast with the name of Mr. G. A. Caldwell.
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Mr. CALDWELL made a brief and witty reply, after which dancing was resumed.
The proceedings were brought to a close at midnight, when" Auld Lang Syne" was sung and Mr. Cooke was carried round the room.
On the 31st March Tientsin sustained one of those disasters to which it unfortunately seems to be getting more and more liable. The Tientsin Reach suddenly silted up, so that there was only nine feet of water, and the steamers Wosang, Hsin-yu, and Fung-shun had to discharge their cargoes in the river. The Wo-sang came to the Bund, and has got away again, but the other steamers were unable to get much further than the Tientsin Bend. The bed of the river has continued to rise daily, and now there is only 8 eight feet at the top of high water. The deposit seems to be similar to that of 1890, and forms a sort of cement that does not readily scour away. We are afraid that there is not much chance of steamers reaching the Bund for some months now. The Taku Tug and Lighter Company is experiencing great difficulty in overtaking the work, as only three or four of the tugs can work in the shallow reaches, and the lighters cannot be loaded over 7 feet 6 inches.-Peking and Tientsin Times,
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