July 30, 1904.]
H.E. MR. F. H. MAY.
(Daily Press, 29th July.) On the eve of the commencement of a few administration it is only fair that we should pause to briefly consider what has been done during the eight months which have elapsed since Sir HENRY BLAKE quitted these shores for Ceylon. Departing from usual precedent, the Secre- tary of State for the Colonies, recognising at once the exceptional circumstances-the absence of the General in Command of the Forces and the presence in the Colony of a Colonial Secretary of proved ability and long experience-appointed the Hon. F. H. MAY Officer Administering the (lovernment, much to the satisfaction of the community generally. That departure from custom, that selection of an administrator has been amply justified by results. Mr MAY has shown by his acts, by his demeanour, and by his ready tact that he is well qualified both to conduct the business of administration and to maintain the dignity of the King's Representative. The unofficial members of the Legislative Council, in a calm but ap- preciative letter to His Excellency, have borne testimony to the excellent and satis- factory manner in which public business has been conducted, public works pushed on, and the wheels of administration kept going generally.
To that lucid statement there is really little for us to add. The work of legislation has been prosecuted with unflagging energy, and several measures of first-class impor- tance have become law during His Excel- lency's period of office. The Peak Reserva- tion Bill, which we may safely prophesy will prove a great boon to present colonists and a still greater to those of a future genera- tion, was passed with the very minimum
"Mr. J. opposition or criticism.
Sound Master Chinese it is true formed Chow. race legislation was intended, of the idea was happily dispelled. The Bill was simply introduced to secure that the very limited space on the upper heights, which has never been sought after by Chinese-who indeed entertain an aversion to the mists which too often enve- lop those regions-shall continue in the occupation of those persons bred in colder climes and who find it essential to their health to reside at an altitude. No idea of either placing Chinese at a disadvantage or of legislating specially on behalf of Europ eans prompted the introduction of the Bill. It was stern necessity, if Europeans were to reside here for the lengthened periods now necessary under altered conditions of trade, and the local Government were prompt to recognise this fact. Not really that any apology is necessary, for though when the island was first acquired Chinese were freely invited to settle here for the purposes of trade, &c., it did not follow that, as in some parts of India, it would not be necessary to form some reservation for the residence of the British and foreign merchants and traders. Because this has
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not been done, and the Chinese are free to reside where they will in Victoria and else- where, that is no reason why a sanitarium on the heights should not be established for the use of Europeans who wither under the torrid heat of the plains. Mr. MAY saw the justice as well as the necessity of such a reservation, and did not hesitate to take the responsibilty for the introduction of the Bill, which has since been approved by His Majesty the KING. Mr. MAY with equal courage, when the petition from the ladies of the Colony praying that steps should be taken to secure the registration of servants was presented to him, quickly decided
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effort and with a total lack of self-conscions- ness.
HONGKONG JOTTINGS.
(Daily Press, 25th July.) The event of the week will be the arrival of Sir Mathew Nathan, and the ceremony of his installation as Governor of the Colony. Sir Mathew is expected on Friday by the P. & 0. steamer Nubio, and will no doubt receive
residents.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. that in view of recent legislation on the subject, he could not entertain the prayer of the memorialists until that legislation had been given a fair trial. This, too, in spite of the fact that His Excellency is a firm believer in the necessity for such registration and had advocated it when he was head of the Police Department. It was a pity, perhaps, that intimation of the probable fate of the petition could not have been given to the ladies who had worked to get it presented; but Mr. May, who as Administrator pro tem, no doubt felt that heating welcome from the general body of could not proceed at once to upset the work of his predecessor, had probably been too busy to consider that phase of the matter. As we have said, his action in both these instances proves his fearlessness and independence, and
goes to show that his conception of duty rises above preference, class, or race. That we shall always have $9 courageous and straightforward a Head of the Executive when a locum tenens becomes necessary we earnestly hope.
As was well known would be the case, Mr. MAY has, throughout his administration, shown an unfailing interest in all the affairs of the Colony, whether political, commercial, or social. There is not a department of the Government with which he is not well acquainted, nor is there any matter or question connected with its trade with which he is not intimate. The progress of the schemes for the augmentation of the water supply, the construction of the public buildings now proceeding, the development of the environs of Victoria, the 'opening up of Kowloon and the New Territory have all claimed his interest and attention. In Mr. MAY the movement to hurry forward the construction of the long-talked-of Kowloon- Canton Railway found a warm sympathiser and staunch friend. His Excellency, like Sir HENRY BLAKE, was prompt to recognise the extreme importance of putting a termina- tion to the delays which have taken place in carrying out the work for which a con- cession was granted by the Government of Peking no less than six years ago. Mr. MAY has not hesitated to give his valuable support to the representations made on this subject by the China Association and the Chamber of Commerce, and we cannot doubt that the question has in consequence received fuller attention in London, though we are unaware of what has been done in the matter. Of one thing, bowever, we feel most thoroughly assured, namely, that any ques- tion affecting the welfare of this community, the present good or the future prospects of the Colony, will never fail to find a cham. pion in Mr. F. H. MAY. Nor is it strange that this should be the case. His Excellency arrived here in his early manhood more than twenty years ago, and the best years of his life have been spent in the island. Here he was married, and his family has grown up around him in the Colony. He has been associated with the administration in one capacity or another during the whole of this long period; he has
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shared in the troubles that have afflicted the Colony and participated in its festivities and there is no phase of its existence with which he is unacquainted. Mr. MAY would have sadly disappointed the expectations of bis friends, of those who know him best, had he proved less capable, less thorough, less high minded, and less courageous than he has shown himself while invested with the supreme authority. He has more than fulfilled those expectations. Withal he has shown a natural capacity for playing the viceregal role without assumption, natural dignity well fitting him for the part, and enabling him to maintain it without
his
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The meteorological marplot by causing the postponement last Thursday of Mrs. May's At Home at Mountain Lodge until this afternoon created widespread disappointment. We may be sure none regretted the necessity Officer Administering the Government and for the postponement more than H. E. the Mrs. May. Fortunately there is a prospect of fine weather to-day, and as this will be the last function of a semi-public character during Mr. and Mrs. May's occupancy of the gubernatorial residences, every invited guest will doubtless make a point of being present.
It is officially notified that among others The Hongkong Omnibus Company, Limited," will at the expiration of three months be struck off the Register and be dissolved unless cause is shown to the contrary. Few residents probably ever knew that such a company existed in Hongkong, but many will doubtless recollect omnibuses vainly trying to compete against jinrikishas in Queen's Road. The turn of the tram-the electric tram-has now come, and the prediction is safe enough that the tram has come to stay. Though it will not cause the convenient ricksha to disappear off the streets, it will command sufficient public patronage to make the enterprise remunerative, and the probability is that it will pay exceedingly well.
Let it be written, as it is undoubtedly felt in Hongkong, that it is pertinent to put the following question to the British and Chinese Corporation:If it is possible to raise from British investors a loan of £1,500,000 towards the construction of the Shanghai-Nanking railway, which will be entirely in Chinese territory, how much easier ought it to be to raise the money required for the construction partly in British territory of that short but important line which is wanted to connect Kowloon with Canton?
Last week was productive of one of the most sensational Triad cases that the police have unearthed for several years. Comment is some- times heard on the fact that the authorities are so much down upon Triads, who are a kind of Reformers, while Reformers such as Kang Yue Wei and others at present in the Colony are objects of the utmost police protection against possible assassination by Chinese emissaries from Canton. One reason for this appears to be that the Triads are looked upon as an organisa tion dangerous even to the European Govern. ment. They hold courts of justice (P) and try all sorts of cases, taking into their hands the powers vested in our Magistrates and Judges, and appointing members of their sect to carry these into effect, whether the sentenced are civil, involving fine or blackmail, or summary chastisement of an offender against the Order.
Talking to me the other day on the disgrace- ful number of beachcombers in Hongkong, Singapore man was extolling the superior methods adopted by the authorities down there in dealing with these undesirables. Said "When a suspicions looking character lands is soon spotted by an offer of the law. keeps him in sight, and by and bys 2000st and asks him where he is working. If the rep is unsatisfactory, the man is taken to the station, and if he is found to have no m outward-bound. “To Hongkong?"
prospects he is handled on to the "Yes, generally," was the reply. And cast slurs on Hongkong's puisance !
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