8. It will be recollected that, in 1875, the War Office and Admiralty both See letter from War Office signified their consent to the proposed embankment and roadway in front of their
to Colonial Office of Decem-
ber 17th, 1875, and letter
from the Admiralty respective establishments, provided that the work should be carried out at the
Colonial Office of December
the Governor of Hongkong
11th, 1875, forwarded to expense of the Colonial Government; and only demurred to the payment of any with the Colonial Office contribution from the special funds of the Naval and Military Departments.
Despatch No. 111 of August 29th, 1876,
See Lord STANLEY to Sir HENRY POTTINGER, No. 2 of November 15th, 1843.
This difficulty would be at once removed, while the equity of the case would be satisfied, by the adoption of the suggestion made in the last paragraph (par. 7).
9. The Executive Council, in common with myself, strongly recommend this work; and the Financial Committee of the Colonial Legislature have already (as was stated above) voted the sum required, and expressed the opinion that negocia- tions should be entered into without delay with the Naval and Military authorities.
10. Accordingly, I put myself in communication on this subject with Major- General SARGENT, C.B.; Commanding Her Majesty's Troops, and with Vice- Admiral WILLES, C.B., Commanding Her Majesty's Naval Forces in China.
11. I find that the Naval and Military authorities, while fully recognising the importance of the proposed work on sanitary and other grounds, now claim that greater additions and facilities should be granted to their respective departments, at the sole cost of the Colony, than are provided in Mr. PRICE's plan, or than (as it would appear) were contemplated by the War Office and Admiralty when they both, in 1875, gave their consent to the scheme. It is to be feared that the expense of the additions now insisted upon would be too heavy for the finances of the Colony. However, the Surveyor General, (Mr. PRICE), is in consultation with the Naval and Military Departments; and, it is hoped, that, in the course of a few weeks, I shall be enabled to transmit further plans showing the further claims now advanced on the Colonial Treasury.
12. Meanwhile, I have considered it to be my duty to place Your Lordship in possession of the present state of the question so that (if it is thought proper) the Colonial Office may re-open the former negociations respecting it with the War Office and the Admiralty. It is presumed that those Departments will not with- draw the general consent which they gave in 1875.
"
13. Finally, it will be seen that the main object of the projected embankment is to remove on urgent sanitary, commercial, and other grounds, that "dislocation of the City of Victoria, which was deprecated by the late Lord DERBY while he was Secretary of State for the Colonies. He wrote to the first Governor of Hongkong (Sir HENRY POTTINGER) in the following terms:
"Her Majesty's Government concur generally with you in the opinion that "we must depend on our Naval Superiority for the complete security of our future "commercial establishments in Hongkong, and that these establishments had better "be allowed to develope "themselves in the manner contemplated by you, without "being impeded or dislocated by Military Works or Dock Yards."
The Right Honourable
THE EARL OF DERBY,
Her Majesty's Principal Secreiary of State for the Colonies,
&c.,
Jl.
Je.
I have, &c.,
G. F. BOWEN.