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Rh the Colonial Office had, with the exception of the land tenure which it seemed inclined to offer in perpetuity, not attended as yet to the recommendations of the Report of the Parliamentary Committee of 1847, and stating that the expenditure of the Colony should not in any great degree be thrown on local commerce; that a system of municipal government of ordinary and local affairs ought to be established; and that some short code of law ought to be drawn up. The petitioners particularly complained that the inhabitants had no share in the legislature, neither by elective representatives nor by nominees selected by the Governor, and that the forms and fees of the Supreme Court were unduly heavy. There is no record shewing that this Petition was ever presented to Parliament. Sir George, however, forwarded (January 30, 1849) a copy of the Petition for the information of the Colonial Office. Nine months later, he selected fifteen of the unofficial Justices of the Peace and summoned them to a conference (November 3, 1849). He informed them that Earl Grey had sanctioned his proposal for the admission of two members of the civil community into the Legislative Council, that the nomination rested with him, but that he thought it better for the Justices themselves to elect two of their number. A meeting of the Justices of the Peace was accordingly held at the Club on 6th December, 1849, and Messrs. David Jardine and J. F. Edger were nominated as the first non-official Members of the Legislative Council. The fact that their election had to be approved by the Colonial Office and that they could not be sworn in until the Queen's warrants arrived (June 14, 1850), did not detract from the general rejoicing over this first step gained in the direction of representative government.

At that same conference (November 3, 1849) Sir G. Bonham had also stated, that, whilst agreeing with the principle of giving taxpayers some sort of municipal government, he doubted the practicability of the scheme in the case of Hongkong. He quoted the words of Sir James Mackintosh (regarding the Bombay municipality) that 'men of standing, engaged in their