The British Government gave the first colonial Government of Hong Kong no jurisdiction over civil disputes. The authorities there tried to do the best they could by recommending arbitration. Examples show that parties agreed to arbitration not because they recognised its merits but for want of alternatives. A statutory scheme for compulsory public arbitration failed. Even when a Supreme Court with civil jurisdiction was established, arbitration continued and Chinese parties had their own procedures. After the Civil Administration of Justice Ordinance 1855 introduced the Common Law Procedure Act 1854, arbitration was subject to and benefited from the same procedure as in England.