Ar the last sitting of the Legislative Council of Hongkong over which he presided before taking his leave of the Colony, Sir Richard MacDonnell made a statement of some interest beyond the limits—of- the island. It may be remembered that, some months ago, we commented on the extraordinary scene which occurred when, Sir Richard MacDonnell being absent on leave, the Honble. Mr. Ryrie asked a question respecting some communications said to have passed between the Foreign Customs at Canton and the Local Government. The impression left at the time was that certain members of the Government had entertained a project for the erection, in British waters, of a branch of that establishment, to enable the Chinese Governmentto collect, under the British flag, a revenue which its own cor ruption and inertness alone prevented it raising in its own ports. Our own ideas on the subject were strongly expressed at the time, and we pointed out that the proposed scheme was one detrimental, not merely to the Colony, but to British trade with China in general, and this opinion fortunately coincided with those of the non-official members of the Legislative Council. It is therefore with some satisfaction that we learn, from the official report, His Excellency's statement referred to above, that the question had apparently dropped, "as no concession of the kind seemed probable on British soil, or under the British Flag." It seems difficult to comprehend the position into which the Local Government of the Colony allowed itself to drift during the absence of the Governor; in fact its meetings had degenerated into lit-Ue better than schoolboy wranglings, where the game was for the official acting official members to employ their opportunities in snubbing, so far as MeeDounell administered a well-timed sible, the non-official. Sir Richard
rebuke, by the official declaration that the Colony was much indebted to the non-official members for the firm attitude they had assumed when the matter was brought to their notice by the Local Government." We have before mentioned our suspicion that Sir Richard had in his composition some of the staff of which tyrants were made. We are, however, willing to acknowledge that tyrants have their use in this world. Accustomed all their life to go in leading strings and receive orders from a superior, officials are, of all other classes, the worst to trast with discretionary power. The ordinary merchant, accustomed all his life to come in contact wilh the external world, and to frm his judgment from actual experience, has the advantage of men bred up to obey orders and to e to a minimum their own responty. When freed from restraint, the latter is apt to run riot and mistake predilection for judgment, and in such case some controlling authority, such as that of the past Governor, is needed to restore him to a reasonable frame of mind. The question of the proposed establishment of the Custom-house was one on which the non-official members were peculiarly fitted to form an opinion, yet the correspondence seemed to have been carried on by some members of the Government without consultation or reference to them. Itis highly unlikely that avy ordinance affecting British trade and British interests, so strongly opposed as the scheme for establishing foreign Cnstom-houses on British' soil by the British residents in the Colony, would have received the Royal assent; still the instance is instructive, and the remarks made by Sir Richard Mace Donnell should not be forgotten. Had the non-official members, faint-hearted at their minority in the Council, allowed injurious ordinances to be passed without protest, an amount of mischief might have been caused which it would have taken years to remedy. Mr. Ryrie and Mr. Rowott fought against odds, but they have at least the satisfaction of learning that their action has met with the approval of the highest colonial authority. Now that so explicit a statement has been made on the subject of the Custom-house, we hope that energetic means will be taken to prevent the interference with British trade caused by the cruisers Promlin around in colonial waters, 'e notice that, rendered confident by the impunity they had hitherto enjoyed, one of these craft had the temerity to enter the harbour and-drop anchor amongst the Chinese trading vessels. It is satisfactory to find His Excellency prepared to take steps to prevents recurrence of such an event; ut matters must have arrived at a high pass indeed, when such an idea could have entered into the minds of the Chinese advisers, A teathe OWS how the wind blows, and this most recent attempt at interference will, not unlikely, awake even the official mind to the practical state of the matter. Sir Arthur Kennedy will have a y task to remedy the evils into which a loisser faire policy has allowed the Colony to drift.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.