Sessional_Paper_1896

492

(6)

to the Loan), and that at the end of the year there was an actual excess of Liabilities over Assets, which was only met by temporarily appropriating for general purposes the balance of the 1893 Loan. I gather, however, that this state of affairs was largely due to the special expenditure on the Taipingshan Resumption Scheme, which will in part at least be ultimately recouped.

4. I should in any case not be disposed to sanction a Loan for such a purpose as the erection of Government Buildings, which are neither directly remunerative, nor like sanitary and water works, of pressing necessity for the health of the Colony.

5. I notice from the last paragraph of the second enclosure to your despatch. No. 92 of 14th April last, that the Public Works, for which the present Loan was raised, are likely to absorb much more than the total sum realised by the Loun. It is therefore desirable to know how this excess expenditure is to be met, when considering the question of incurring other heavy expenditure on Public Buildings.

6. I will address you later on in a separate despatch as to the desirability of inviting competitive designs for the new Government Offices in the event of its being decided to erect them.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient, humble Servant,

Governor

SIR W. ROBINSON, K.C.M.G.,

HONGKONG.

No. 132.

$o.,

&C.,

&c.

J. CHAMBERLAIN.

(Despatch from the Secretary of State to the Governor.)

DOWNING STREET,

16th June, 1896.

SIR,

With reference to the last paragraph of my despatch No. 126 of the 5th instant, I have the honour to inform you that I am not prepared to approve the proposal to invite competitive designs for new Government Offices at Hongkong.

2. The system has not been found to work very well in this country, partly owing to the difficulty of finding competent judges to decide on the merits of the competing designs; and partly because the selected design may turn out to be the work of an architect, or firm, of very limited experience in the supervision of actual construction, and in dealing with the numberless questions which arise in connection with a large building.

3. When it is decided to erect the new Government Buildings, it will, in my opinion, be desirable to employ the Consulting Architects to the Crown Agents for the Colonies, Messrs. ASTON WEBB and INGRESS BELL, who designed the Birmingham Law Courts and other notable buildings, and who have considerable experience in making designs for buildings in the tropics.