§ 28. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has studied the further particulars sent to him by the hon. Member for Tradeston with regard to the petition for the creation of two further unofficial seats in the Hong Kong legislature; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LytteltonYes, Sir. The object of my remarks to which exception has been taken was to emphasise that the signatories of the petition number only a small fraction of the population of Hong Kong, and that here is evidence that this fraction is by no means representative of the whole community. I had no wish to cast any reflection on the hawkers of Hong Kong, who have long been a recognised part of urban life in the Colony.
§ Mr. RankinIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the figure of 2,250,000 which he gave in his reply to me on 16th December, does not represent the stable population of Hong Kong, but is inflated by those who have come over from the mainland, and that his inference was, therefore, wrong? Is he aware that his reason for declining to accept the petition, that it was signed by a large number of people who were hawkers, has created great offence, because the allegation is untrue? Does the right hon. Gentleman mean that an individual who is a hawker has no place in the British Commonwealth?
§ Mr. LytteltonOf course not. The hon. Gentleman is trying to put a wrong interpretation on the reply. I can deal only with the facts. The population of Hong Kong is now 2,250,000. Where the people come from is another question. Only 12,000 people out of the 2,250,000 signed the petition, and some of those signed it were perhaps not representative of the opinion of the Colony.