§ DR. BOWRINGinquired whether an ordinance issued by the Governor of Hong-Kong, dated the 11th of March last, appropriating 4,600l. of the revenue of that colony to the building of an Anglican church, for the exclusive service of the members of the Establishment, had received the sanction of Her Majesty's Government? And also, whether an ordinance of the same date, which repealed the ordinance of 1844, by which British subjects had certain rights of appeal in the Supreme Court of Judicature against consular decisions, had been approved by the Home Colonial Government?
§ MR. HAWESbegged to state, in reference to the first ordinance inquired about, that in 1843, when Lord Stanley 1366 was Secretary of State, Sir H. Pottinger brought under the notice of the Government the necessity of building a church for the colony of Hong-Kong, and inquired whether any contribution would be made from colonial sources. The reply was, that if one-third were raised by private subscriptions, the remaining two-thirds would be contributed from the colonial revenue, and one-third was subscribed accordingly. Estimates and plans were obtained, and an ordinance was passed carrying the proposal into effect; and, as a matter of course, it became the duty of the head of the Colonial Department to sanction that ordinance, as it was in conformity with the pledge given under which the money was subscribed. With regard to the second ordinance, he was not able to give any information at present, inasmuch as he had not received the ordinance, and knew nothing about it.