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Rh the Macao coolie trade. The Chief Justice (J. Smale), now took occasion to announce from the Bench (April, 1873), that he held the coolie trade to be a slave trade, and that any one in Hongkong taking part in it, either directly or indirectly, would be liable to be punished for felony under the Imperial Act for the suppression of slavery. The result of all this agitation was that, with special reference to the fact that two Spanish ships (the Buena Ventura and Yrurac Bat) had been fitted up in Hongkong before proceeding to Macao to load coolies, an Emigrant-ship Fittings Ordinance (3 of 1873) was passed (April 24, 1873) and came into force a few months later (August 2, 1873). The effect of this Ordinance was to prevent any person in the Colony in any way supplying stores or fittings to vessels in the harbour destined to carry emigrants from any place outside of Hongkong. Not content with this Ordinance, the Governor brought before the Council (April 17, 1873), with special reference to the ship Fatchoy, which had taken emigrants to Cuba, another Bill for the repression of abuses in relation to Chinese Emigration. Messrs. Ph. Ryrie and J. Whittall strongly opposed this Bill (April 28, 1873), on the ground that the Fittings Ordinance was perfectly sufficient to rectify and prevent all abuses connected with coolie emigration, and that the present Bill was too sweeping. The protest of the two unofficial Members having been disregarded, they absented themselves from the meetings of Council until the Bill, after many alterations and additions, had passed as Ordinance 5 of 1873. When the Macao coolie trade had been entirely closed (March 27, 1874), both Ordinances were repealed (September 7, 1874) by the consolidated Emigration Ordinance (5 of 1874). This Ordinance, once more, placed the issue of warrants in connection with emigrant ships exclusively in the hands of the Governor, who was instructed to allow contract emigration only to countries where a British Magistrate could control the enforcement of the contracts. To stop abuses connected with •emigration, the Committee of the Tungwa Hospital applied for and received permission from the Governor to employ special