73
No. 2
2
93
HONGKONG.
CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING THE PROPOSED LOAN.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, on the 25th January, 1893.
To the Secretary of State for the Colonies, No. 39 of 2nd February, 1892.
MY LORD,
I have the honour to transmit for Your Lordship's consideration copy of the* speech I addressed to the Legislative Council on its re-assembling on the 25th ultimo.
From this document Your Lordship will observe that I do not concur in the opinion expressed by Major-General BARKER that the necessity for raising a loan has not yet arisen. When the Committee referred to in my speech has reported, I will address Your Lordship again on the subject.
I have, &c.,
WILLIAM ROBINSON.
To the Secretary of State for the Colonies, No. 140 of 19th April, 1892.
MY LORD,
With reference to my despatch, No. 39 of the 2nd of February last, I have the honour to transmit for Your Lordship's information copies of the report* of the Committee of the Legislative Council which I appointed to consider the advisability of raising a public loan.
Although I do not agree with the conclusion arrived at by the Committee, yet in view of the financial authority of most of its members, I decided not to press the matter further immediately. I am nevertheless quite satisfied that the raising of a loan cannot be deferred longer than a few months, and that it will be found more advantageous to raise the loan in gold in London than locally in silver; and I have therefore to suggest, with a view to avoiding delay whenever it may be decided to raise the loan, that the Crown Agents be now desired to state all the particulars which are not already in their possession and which they will require to enable them to draw up the prospectus of the loan.
have, &c.,
WILLIAM ROBINSON,
No. 39 of 2nd February. No. 140 of 19th April.
SIR,
To the Governor of Hongkong, No. 200 of 29th July, 1892.
I have had under my consideration your despatches noted in the margin, and have decided to sanction the raising of a loan by the Hongkong Government of an amount not exceeding two hundred thousand pounds for the purpose of con- structing those of the proposed public works which it is most urgently necessary to proceed with.
*
Already presented to the Council,