THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
HONGKONG.
(May 20, 1897.
under which the officers exercising it are to be appointed we think confidence may be felt that it will be exercised with reason- able discretion, should it ever have to be exercised at all, which we trust will not be the case. The Hon. TH. WHITEHEAD, while not moving any amendment to the particular by-law in question, seemed to think it would be better that an order should, in each case where destruction of property was deemed necessary, be obtained from a Magistrate.
e objection to that is the loss of time that under the circumstances provided for in the Portuguese Government has been decided
I
that the members of the latter body should | TONNAGE DUES AU MACAO AND be able to refer to the proceedings of the Sanitary Board; still more important is it that the public at large should know what The fact that the tonnage dues at Macao is being done and said by the Sanitary are to be abolished in so far as consting and Board, especially in the existing cir cumstances, under which the public is river steamers are concerned has an im- deprived of its proper number of repre- portant bearing on the light dues question sentatives on the Board. We cannot sup-in Hongkong and ought to determine the pose that the Board either in ordinary times Government, if not to
suppress the light or as at present constituted can have any dues altogether, at least to keep them at a desire to hold its meetings in private, except very low figure. The step taken by the would be entailed. It is only in cases of standing orders and rules, when a majority
upon with a view of attracting to emergency that the power is to be exercised, of the members present may deem it ex-
Macão traffic that would otherwise cen- and when the emergency arises it is desirable pedient. We would therefore suggest to
tre at Hongkong. In former
years it should be met with as little red tape and the Secretary that he should extend to the there was an appreciable trade from Macao circumlocution as possible. If the power Press in respect of special meetings the same
to Pakhoi and Hoihow, but with the im- were confided to the hands of incompetent courtesy that he does in respect of ordinary position of heavy tonnage dues at Macao or untrustworthy officers no doubt it would meetings and send formal notice in regular this trade was transferred to Hongkong. be abused and might be made the occasion course. If the Secretary should be unable The greater facilities enjoyed by this port of bribery, but the officers are to be specially to do this on his own responsibility we in the shape of deep water at all states of appointed by the Sanitary Board and ap-commend the matter to the attention of the tide may also have had something to do proved by the Governor, which may be the President of the Board and of Mr. N. J. with the transfer, but the tonnage dues were taken as a sufficient guarantee that they EDE, the only remaining unofficial member.the immediate determining factor. In that will be men whose characters are above There can be no question as to the duty of respect Macao will now enjoy an advant- suspicion; they will, moreover, be subjected these gentlemen in the matter.
age over Hongkong, as it is to be an close observation on the part.
absolutely free port so far as coasting of the public whose interests are affected
and river steamers are concerned. It is and any irregularities would probably soon
difficult to recover a trade once driven be brought to light. The power is 'not
away, and Macao may not be able to attract one that could with safety have been
back trade that has been transferred to conferred on the rank and file of the
Hongkong and has taken root here, but that is what the Portuguese Government is aiming at, and the competition of the neigh- bouring port, though it may not be very serious, is not to be altogether despised. It would be a grave mistake to encourage and strengthen that competition by heavily mulcting vessels for the privilege of entering our harbour.
to
very
OF
THE UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS COUNCIL AND THE GOVERNMENT.
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The little breeze" that occurred at the force that may at any time be engaged in meeting of the Legislative Council on combatting an epidemic of plague or other Monday in reference to the alleged want disease, but with the safeguards now proof consideration shown to the unofficial vided we think it may be regarded without serious uneasiness.
PUBLICITY FOR THE PROCED-
INGS OF THE SANITARY BOARD.
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Article 13 of the standing orders and rules of the Sanitary Board provides that "All meetings of the Board whether in "Committee of the whole or as a Board "shall be public unless a motion is made to "exclude strangers and carried by a "majority of the members present." It is, however, of little use that the meetings are nominally public unless public notice is given of when they are to be held. As regards the ordinary meetings of the Board the agenda is sent to the Press as a matter of regular routine, and so much as is of public interest in the proceedings is usually reported, but in the case of special meetings it has not hitherto been a rule to send notice to the Press, so that these meetings, at which the business is often of exceptional im- portance, are in effect held in private, unless the reporters should become aware of them by their own vigilance or by accident. One such meeting was held on Thursday last to consider a specially important subject, name- ly, the by-laws referred back to the Board by the Legislative Council. Fortunately the reporter of this paper, knowing from the proceedings of the last meeting of the Legis- lative Council that a meeting of the Board must be held during the course of the week, made it his business to enquire on what day it was to take place, and thus it came about that the meeting was duly reported in our columns. But special meetings of the Board may be summoned under cir- cumstances to which the representatives of the Press can have no clue, and in those cases the proceedings remain unreported. It is innecessary to dwell on the importance of publicity for the proceedings of the Board. At the meeting of the
members will, we hope, have the effect of clearing the atmosphere and conducing to the more
harmonious working of the legislative machinery of the colony in future. It was the Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD Who
HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION.
Mr. COOPER, in his last annual report on the Public Works Department, says that though the accommodation at the Govern- ment Civil Hospital is insufficient to meet the increasing requirements of the colony the site is now built over to such an extent that no further buildings should be erected upon it. It has nevertheless been decided, we understand, that the new and children's hospital to be erected in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee is
women's
made the complaint, which he directed particularly to the Colonial Secretary. The Hon. J. H. STEWART LOCKHART replied that if he had ever in any way treated the unofficial members with a want of consideration it had not been from a desire to do so, but had been quite unintentional. That there has at times been a want of consideration shown we
be can
no doubt, and think there although it may be admitted that it was unintentional, it is perhaps not difficult
to be placed on the site, the to understand the frame of mind which has led to it. One of the principal func- last remaining open space of ground being tions of the unofficial members is to criticise utilised for the purpose. The decision, we | Government measures, and it is not every think, is an unfortunate one, for there can one who can submit to criticism and lovebe no doubt that the Civil Hospital as a whole will in course of time have to be the critic. Mr. WHITEHEAD has been a severe critic of the Government, and his removed to à larger and more open site. criticism, whether well founded or captious, It is no doubt true enough that the present "will last our time," but in has at times goaded the official members arrangement into irritability, and consideration for others establishing a permanent memorial we should When Kow- is not a characteristic of the state of irrita- look further ahead than that. tion. An illustration of this occurred at a loon is connected with Canton by railway and very recent meeting of the Council. When Canton with Hankow and Peking, all of
which will inevitably take place sometime, it was complained that the unofficial mem- bers had not had copies of the new sanitary the population of this colony will speedily by-laws supplied in reasonable time to admit double, treble, and quadruple itself, and of their proper consideration the reply was our successors will then probably reproach that they could have got copies for them- the present generation for its shortsighted- But it was not ness in not taking advantage of the pre- selves if they wanted them. the business of the unofficial members to get sent opportunity to make a commencement copies for themselves; they were entitled to of a new hospital on a new site. have them supplied through the regular official channel, and when it was found that
The Russian Volunteer Fleet steamship copies had been supplied at such a late date Ekaterinislav narrowly escaped being wrecked, as not to leave sufficient time for considera- and did lose the blades of her starboard twin tion before the meeting at which the by-propeller, bent the shaft, and, it is feared, laws were submitted for approval, the cracked the boss, etc., when approaching Naga- saki at four o'clock on the morning of the 8th
on the Gotos. She escaped total loss by little
Sanitar Thursday reference was made | dignity of the Council would have been inst. The place she struck was at Hirado Point
Board on to the report of the proceedings of the Legislative Council and it is equally im portant, as a matter of business routine,
better consulted by frankly recognising the justice of the complaint than by returning short answers.
short of a miracle. She has been unloaded and docked for repairs.-Nagasaki Shipping List.
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