of the Governor, the Government should be administered by the Lieutenant-Governor or by an Administrator appointed for the purpose, or by the Colonial Secretary for the time being.
One new Sub-Department, that was much needed and did good work thereafter, was established by Sir John (February 1, 1881), viz. that of the Government Marine Surveyor (J. S. Brewer), under the Merchant Shipping Consolidation Ordinance (8 of 1879). The attempt (November 16, 1878) to form a new office of Chinese Secretary to the Governor and Translator to the Colonial Secretary (E. J. Eitel) failed to gain the approval of the Secretary of State, and the office which the latter substituted for it, viz. that of Supervisor of Interpreters and Translator for the Supreme Court (November 25, 1881) hardly outlasted this administration. To the management of the Government Gazette, Sir John gave much painstaking attention. He combined the separate editions of the English and Chinese issues of the Gazette into one (January 1, 1879) and had every document, that could be of any interest to the Chinese, translated in the Gazette, the English and Chinese texts being placed side by side in parallel columns. In the Police Department, the vacant office of Assistant Superintendent of Police was abolished by the Secretary of State (January 30, 1879). A more important change was made by Sir John (March 17, 1879) by ordering two-thirds of the Police Force to be always placed on night duty. The Superintendent of Police himself reported three months later (July 1, 1879) that this measure had a decidedly beneficial effect in diminishing the amount of crime. The employment of steam-launches (1879), the removal of the Water Police from the rotten hulk in the harbour to the new Tsimshatsui Station (1881), together with the numerical increase of the Force, were steps of progress which the Governor reluctantly conceded to the demands of the Superintendent. The subject of competitive examinations was a favourite topic with Sir, John, who announced (May 28, 1877), shortly after his arrival, that, as a general rule, all appointments at his disposal in the Civil Service of this Colony
