CAB11-57-10 — Page 95

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CHAPTER VI (i).

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102

III. By his Excellency, &c.,

Whereas, by Section 13 of Ordinance No. 6 of 1893, entitled the Volunteer Ordinance, 1893, it is enacted that His Excellency the Governor may, in case of great national emergency, or in case of actual or apprehended invasion of or attack on the Colony, by Proclamation call out any Volunteer corps for actual military service, and whereas it is also enacted by the aforesaid section that the period of such service shall continue so long as the Governor in Council shall consider necessary and shall end only by order of the Governor.

Now, therefore, I,

>

Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hong Kong and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same, acting with the advice of the Executive Council to the effect that such calling out is necessary and should be continued for the present, and being myself of opinion that a case of great national emergency has arisen do, by this Proclamation, call out the Hong Kong Volunteer Corps for actual military service until my further order.

By command, &c.

2. He will obtain the Governor's signature to the following order :-

Order made by his Excellency

"

Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hong Kong and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same. Whereas by sub-clause 13 of clause 3 of the Order of the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council, made and dated the 26th day of October, 1896, it is provided as follows:-

For the purpose of determining the amount of any remuneration or compensation payable under this Order, and the prices at which any grain, article of food, coal, or other fuel taken under sub-clause 9 of this Order may be sold to the inhabitants the Governor shall appoint a Board consisting of five persons, of whom one shall be a Judge, two shall be officers either in the service of the Civil Government of this Colony or in Her Majesty's naval or military service, and the other two shall be inhabitants of the Colony;

And whereas by clause 2 of the same Order in Council it is provided that the words "the Colony" occurring in such Order means any Colony specified in the Schedule thereto and its Dependencies, and the term "Governor' means the person for the time being administering the Government of the Colony;

And whereas the Colony of Hong Kong is one of the Colonies mentioned in the said Order in Council:

Governor of the Colony of Hong Kong and its Now, therefore, I, Dependencies, do hereby, in pursuance of the powers vested in me as aforesaid, and of all other powers (if any) enabling me to do so, appoint a Board consisting of five persons, namely,

and

y

for the purpose of the said Board determining the amount of any remuneration or compensation payable under Her Majesty's Order in Council above referred to, and the prices at which any grain, article of food, coal, or other fuel taken under sub-clause 9 of clause 3 of the said Order in Council may be sold to the inhabitants of the Colony of Hong Kong and its Dependencies.

Made at Government House, Victoria, in the Colony of Hong Kong, this

190

*

(Signed)

day of

Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

3. He will be responsible for the issue of any special orders which the existing state of the food supply of the Colony may render necessary or desirable with regard to the prohibition of export or the restriction of distribution.

Note on the Supply of Food to Civil Population.

It will be important to reduce to a very large extent the number of Chinese residing in the Co cny in view of a possible blockade. This will probably effect itself by the voluntary exodus of Chinese which will take place on war being declared.

The exportation of food and other supplies will be prohibited as soon as war is imminent. Hong Kong may be said to be the store-house for Canton as regards rice, the staple of Chinese food. It is estimated that there is rice enough in the Coleny for the supply of the whole population for 139 days, and the unsavoury materials with which the Chinese season their food are abundant. It is hardly conceivable that communication will be so interrupted as to prevent the further 'importation of rice into this Colony, and as many Chinese will clear out in the event of war, the

present supply may be reckoned on to last for a longer time.

There is no

As to its distribution, there will be no attempt to alter existing arrangements. reason that the Chinese population, who live apart from the European, should live at time of preparation for war in any other way than they do at present, and to attempt to take the distribution of food for 250,000 people out of the hands of those who now do it in such organized fashion would be an impossible economic problem.

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