Prominent leaders including J. J. Keswick of the Chamber of Commerce, Paul Chater and E. R. Belilios were in favour of an official majority while the officers directly responsible to the Governor.

Besides the reconstitution of the Sanitary Board issues, in 1894 there was a group of petitioners supported by the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council Paul Chater and Ho Kai with 363 signatures asked for a further representations in the Colonial Government.

They demanded: In the letter to the Secretary of State Lord Ripon on 5 June 1894, Governor William Robinson addressed: I believe that the Chinese, who are indifferently represented, and the Portuguese, who are not represented at all, if a plebiscite could be taken, would be in favour of a pure autocracy; the Americans need not to be counted, and the "Britishers" with the exception of a few "unquiet spirits" would be satisfied to let matters remain as they are.

A plebiscite was held in June 1896 and the question submitted to the voters being whether the Sanitary Board should consist of a majority of officials or of unofficials.

Although the plebiscite showed a clear view for unofficial majority, Robinson still insisted to have sanitary affairs placed directly under Government control.

The then Secretary of State Joseph Chamberlain was not pleased with the Governor's decision of a plebiscite and stated that "it is inconsistent with Crown Colony government to seek the guidance of a plebiscite; and in no community whatever whether Crown Colony or not, can a satisfactory solution of a question, in which the whole body of the ratepayers and many outside that body are interested, be induced from an expression of the opinions of one section alone."

Paul Chater and Jardine representative John Bell-Irving were the new unofficial members appointed to the Executive Council.