As the Chairman had told them, the great progressive community Hongkong had been confronted for the last few months with enormous iMiculties, the responsibility for lay entirely outside the Colony herself. There noth ing in respect of which the economic or social or industrial conditions of Hongkong were in any way responsible for the strike and boycott to which the Colony had been subjected. That had arisen out of circumstances beyond the control of the Hongkong community, British or loyal Chinese, and owing to the whole state of trouble to which China herself was subject. He did not however, think that it was proper for him to endeavour to diteuss with them the great problems of Chinese difficulties, or to suggest w solution at that moment. They knew that China was passing through a period, of stress, and like the China Association they hoped that the younger, the more progressive and the more patriotic elements in China would find their feet, and would ultimately gain the ascendancy, and thus contribute to recreate a ' new and progressive China, capable of fulfilling its pledges to the outside world, and able to give reasonable government and security to those toiling millions of whom the Chairman has spoken with so much feeling, They had not yet arrived at that stage.
They had to remember that the unity and maintenance of China was of importance, and it would be a dangerous thing if in pursuit of any immediate interest of their own, however great and encouraging, they ran the of encouraging the break-up of that great country and precipitating a scramble among conflicting Powers for predominance snd ascendancy in this or in that part of the China Empire.
British policy necessarily had to be a careful and patient one, but one that did expose them from time to time to the charge of not being active enough in defending their interests. However that might those were cons he did not wis rather say something about Hong-' kong itself. If they could not deal at once with the causes which had brought Hongkong into such great Gificulties, they could st least do something to mitigate the position jin which she found herself, Mutual Help of the Empire 'They realized that the continuance of the boycott endangered the whole fabric of the economic life of the Colony, and it, was necessary to' take some measures. to establish the'¢onfidence of the community and gable it fo tide over, the present
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.