The-Hong-Kong-Weekly-Press-1903-04-11 — Page 2

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THE CHINESE, AND H.E. THE

GOVERNOR.

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* (Daily Prem, 6th April.) Le Petition signed by the leading mbers of every section of the Chinese community praying for an extension of the term of Sir HENEY BLAKE as Governor of Hongkong has naturally excited a good deal of comment and no small amount of strong criticism among the European residents in the Colony. No one will gain- say what the petitioners describe as acknowledged truth" that His Excellency has completely won the confidence, respect and admiration of the entire Chinese popula- tion None will dispute the fact, that His Excellency has taken a very nctive interest in all benevolent and charitable institutions and that many of these will be "perpetual monuments of his benevolent Government." But no fanguine expectations can be enter- tained by the petitioners that their wishes for the extension of His Excellency's term will be acceded to. His Excellency indeed has rightly informed the petitioners that “the regulation by which the duration of a "Governor's administration is determined "is the result of careful consideration after long experience," and we may add that it is a rule from which departures are very rarely made. Old residents will doubtless recollect a similar effort to retain Sir JOHN POPE HENNESSEY at Government House, but it proved unsuccessful.

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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND housing and spread of the Chinese working classes, is considered by your petitioners to be absolutely necessary for their welfare and the sanitary improvement of the whole Colony, aud that your petitioners liave good reason to believe that His Excellency the Governor is now devising schemes to meet immediate and future requirements in those respects.

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It would be satisfactory to be assured that His Excellency is now devising schemes to meet the immediate and future requirements," but having regard to the urgency and importance of the matter, we think the water supply question ought to have been advanced far beyond that stage. Perhaps the paragraph in the pétition which excites most comment is No. 9, which, among other things, says:

improvement and augmentation of the police and district watchmen forces, the "stern suppression of secret societies, and "the deportation of hardened criminals and "dangerous characters have tended to preserve the peace and good order of this Colony in a manner the most effective and unsurpassed." These are consummations devoutly to be wished, but the facts certainly do not justify the assertions of the peti- tioners. The Criminal Statistics published in the Government Gazette only a week ago show that during the last five years the increase in "serious offences" in the Colony has been 30 per cent. compared with the figures for the previous five years, and while the return represents a decrease of 21 per cent. in "minor offences" in the same period, it is notorious that a large proportion of the crimes in the Colouy- small thefts particularly--are not reported to the police.

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[April 11, 1903, “require at this great emporium of trade a ± "strong Government and n Governor. possessed of an intimate knowledge of affairs and the complete confidence of "the entire Chinese community."- Mr. CHAMBERLAIN might very well say: this may be so. But how can any Governor deal with currency?" No Governor, how ever good, will have it in his hands to deal with currency, which is a measure that can only be dealt with by experts at home. The chief value of the Petition, apart from its high testimony to the admiration of the Chinese community for His Excellency the Governor, is that it serves to point out how much that is necessary in the Colony yet unfortunately remains to be achieved

THE DETECTION OF CRIME.

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(Daily Press, 3rd April.) The letter of Mr. HENRY HUMPHREYS calls fresh and forcible attention to a the Colony that state of things in cannot by any person be regarded as Mr. either satisfactory or reassuring.

describes in a few terse HUMPHREYS sontences how he has been victimised since his return to the Colony only six weeks ago, and we fear that his experience is not unique. There may be, probably there is,-- a wave of crime passing over the Colony, due in large measure to the famine in Kwangsi and the bard times in Kwangtung, leading to a great increase in and migration Though His Excellency Sir HENRY

of the predatory class from the mainland to BLAKE, during his term of office, has doubt.

the Colony. Unfortunately the Cantonese

the too well criminals less wished to promote the interests of the

paratively mild laws of the Colony, which Colony, it cannot be said that he has proved an ideal Governor in the sense of pressing

rightly forbid the use of torture, but un- forward the many and important adminis

wisely, perhaps, limit the use of the rod trative improvements of which the Colony While His Excellency deserves credit for The argumentum baculinum is thoroughly has loug stood in need His Excellency has what has been achieved to the advantage understood by the Chinese desperado; lie had to be moved by outside agitation and by of trade on the West River by reason of the respects it when properly and impartially- the Chamber of Commerce before taking maintenance of friendly relations with the administered and keeps at a distance when any steps. His Excellency has failed local Government of Canton, a few words assured that retribution will overtake signally to get public work pushed forward. need to be said with reference to the ad-wrong-doing. But he does not fear the law, Where is the Post Office?

so much when it is tender to his hide, feeds- Where are ministration of the New Territory, which

him fairly, and provides good and gratuitous the Law Courts that ought to have been certainly leaves a great deal to be desired. built ere this? Even the Blake Clock It has so far not been made the source sleeping accommodation. There are, more Tower stands where it did, a hideous obstruc- revenue that it might and ought to be he- over, ways in which justice may be dodged in Hongkong, such as a breakdown in the tion to traffic. What about the waterworks? cause of the neglect to collect Crown rents. The extension of the Tailam waterworks In a speech delivered in August, 1900, to the evidence, the establishment of an alibi, or has not been pushed on with the energy committee men at Tiúpó and P'ing Shau, the occasional intimidation of witnesses. that it might have been; and various other His Excellency gave it to be understood The Colony also affords a pleasant hunting public works have languished, instead of that the occupiers of land would be accepted ground to the Chinese criminal, whose being vigorously proceeded with. Indeed as owners, but if the person in occupation worst risk is a period of hard labour in a when we come to fead the petition carefully was decided upon an investigation of his comfortable gaol, where his food and we are struck by the fact that the vagueness title not to be the proper owner the amount lodging are at any rate assured. of the wording is simply remarkable, and paid by him as Crown rent would be return- it would indeed be an easy matter for aed, and the rent collected from the person critic to turn what is intended as a testimonial into a strong criticism of His Excellency's administration. The way in which the author of the petition skates over the facts and tris to make it appear that things desired are things accomplished, or in the way of being accomplished, is simply most delusive. Let us take, for example, what the petitioners say, with regard to the water question. In paragraph 9 they refer to the increase of the water storage and the better regulation of the water supply" as among the measures which will improve the health of the Colony. We quite agree. But it is necessary to point out that these are things still required and not yet achieved, Increased water storage has been a crying eed in the Colony for years, and despite this reference to the matter in paragraph paragraph 13 shows that it is still an tisfied demand. Iu paragraph 13 the

oners show

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If, however, the conditions are such as to invite visits from maruders from the decided to be the lawful owner. Have the Two Kwang provinces," is it not the more rents in the numerous disputed cases been necessary that the Police of the Colony collected "on account" in the manner above should be exceptionally alert and excep- described, or is the collection of such rents tionally efficient? Such at any rate seems still being neglected? The latest Report on the obvious conclusion that would be come the New Territory-that for 1901-showed to by any unpreju-liced outsider. That the that while the expenditure was $534,260, Police Force of Hongkong is neither the revenue collected did not amount to more sufficiently active nor sufficiently versed in- than $53,890; and we doubt not thit the detective work is all too plainly apparent next Report will show that the New Terri- from the numbers of undetected crimes and tory is still very far from paying its way. the constant failures to recover stolen In 1898 Mr. STEWART LOCKHAR ( wrote that property. We need not go further than he anticipated no difficulty in raising from the Report of the Captain Superintendent the outset an annual revenue big enough to of Police for the year 1902, published in the What last issue of the Government Gazette, for Licet the cost of administration.

we wonder, would Mr. evidence on this point. According to thi explanation, LOCKHART offer of the ridiculous failure return the value of property reported stolen during the year was $248,469,04, while of his prediction to materialise ?

Coming to the final paragraph in the the value of property recovered by the Petition, the Secretary of State for the Police and restored to owners was only Colonies is informed " that owing to the $10.383.22, about a twenty-fourth part of unsatisfactory condition of the local the whole! It is true that the sum included monetary currency, and the disturbed and $50,000 reported stolen from the steamship "unsettled state of Southern China a crisis | Zafiro, which may have occurred out of at any moment occur in this Colony the Colony, but even allowing for that neighbouring provinces, which the amount of stolen property recovered

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provision for & Jargely increased supply of water to the Colony by further arrangements for its conservation and dis- | “ tribution, together with provision for the

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