182
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[March 7, 1904.
Should this not be acceptable to you I am than they had at first imposed on the com-
then supposed that you would take advantage in dealing with your customers of the fact of to draw your attention to paragraph 2 in my | th. se privileges having resulted in the formation | previous letter, which runs as follows:-- of a monopoly.
In conclusion I am to state that this Chamber would welcome a more generous treatment of the mercantile community of this Colony in the certain belief that it would be to the mutual advantage of all concerned, and in regard to the question now under discussion, it will be glad to learn that the joiut administration is prepared to view the matter in a mora liberal ligbe—I have | the honour to b›, Sir, Your obedient Servant, A. R. LOWE,
kecretary. J. M. Beck, Esq.,
Superintendent. Eastern Extension Aus- tralasia and China Telegraph Company. Olaf Nielsen, Esq..
Superintendent, Great Northern Telegraph
Company.
ard
8.
"In fixing the deposit at the average cost of one mouth's telegrams it must be appareut to you that the advantage is all on your side. The utmost surely your Companies can demand is cash on deposit of a telegram immediately before its transmission. The month's deposit you require means that for the best part of the month the sender of telegrams will have a balance to his credit in your books. From the nature of your business it is unreason ble to ask him to give your Companies this credit, nor does it appear necessary in such cases where there is no question as to the financial standing of the firm, or individual, with whom you are in business relations. It would certainly make the transaction a more equitable one if the deposit now required was reduced to one-hilf." The reduction of the deposit claimed by one- half would, as pointed out, make the attitude of your administration a more equitablo one, and the committee of this Chamber will be glad to learn that you can meet the wishes of the mercantile community to this extent if your administration is unable to meet them in the fuller sense represented above.
Hongkong Station, 29th Augus', 1903. Dear Sir, We have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of yesterday's da'e setting forth the views of your committes regarding the new telegram deposit system; and we instructed by the companies' managers Shanghai to state in reply that your letter
Several members of this Chamber have expres- will be submitted to their respective hards sed surprise at the length of time found of directors.We are, Dair Sir, Yours necessary to arrive at a decision in this matter. faithful y,
My committee trust that the further recon- J. М. ВЕСК,
sidoration of their representations now desired Superintendent, astern Extension Telegraph may be communicated to them with the least
Company.
possible delay.
OLAF NIELSEN,
I am to point out that this correspondence Superintendent, Great Northern Telegraph will be published in due course in the monthly
Company.
minutes of the Chamber of Commerce.-- 1 have the honour to be, Sir, Your ob-dient servant.
(sd.) A. R. Lowe, Secretary.
A. R. Lowe, Esq,
Secretary, Hongkong General Chamber of
Commerce.
CABLE COMPANIES AND CUST MERS'
DEPOSITS.
The following correspondence was laid on the table :---
Hongkong, 9th January, 194. A. 1. Lowe, Esq., Secretary,
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce. Dear Sir,-With reference to our lotter of the 29th August regarding the telegram depo. sit system, we are instructed by the Companies' managers at Shanghai to state that, in reply to your letter of the 28th August, the Comproies' respective board of directors have wired that they have decided that the whole of the interest allowed by the bank shall be paid to the depositors.
The Companies trust that this concession will be considered by the Chamber as satisfactorily settling the question, the more so as only a small minority of the Companies' clients have expressed any dissatisfaction with the new system. We are, dear Sir Yours faithfully,
Co.
+
(Sd.) J. M. BECK, Superintendent, Eastern Extension Telegraph
(S1) OLAF NIELSEN. Superintendent, Great Northern Telegraph
Co.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.
Hongkong, 2th January, 1904 SIR,I am directed 10 acknowl-dge tha receipt of your letter of the 9th instant in reply to my letter of the 28th August last on the subject of customers' deposits, and I am to inform you that the decision of your respective board of directors to refund the whole of the interest on the deposits to the depositors cannot be regarded by the committee of t: is Chamber in the light of a concession as you letter infers, but rather as a tardy act of restitution of an imposition which should not have been male in the first instance by your companies, and further I am to point out that the mere fact of so fer of your clients having expressed any dissatis. faction with the new system does not carry much weight with my Committee, as it was well known that this Chamber would take the
matter up, and naturally many members accordingly refrained from openly expressing their dissatisfaction.
It is a matter of regret that your administra- tion has ignored the main point at issue, which was the rehabilitation of the old system, and my committee again beg you to give this matter your further consideration.
|
J. M. Beck. Esq, Superintendent, Eastern Extension telegraphi Co.;
O af Ni-lsen, Esq., Superintendent, Great Northern Telegraph 0.
Hongkong Station,
21st January, 1994. Dear Sir, We have to acknowledge receipt of
your letter dated the 20th instant, and to state that the same is being submitted to the Companies' Managers at Shanghai.--We are, dear Sir, Yours faithfully,
(Sd.) J. M. BECK, Superintendent, E. E. Tela g. Co.
(Sd.) OLAF NIELSEN, Superintendent, G. N. Teleg, Co.
A. R. Lowe Esq..
Secretary, Hongkong General Chamber
of Commerce.
Hongkong Station,
4th February, 1904, Dear Sir,-We beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 20th ultimo on the sub- ject of the telegram deposit account. In reply thereto we are instructed to state that the Companies are not prepared to admit that the present system is in any respect inequitable, or that the refoud of the whole interest to the depositors does not constitute a real concession seeing that the Companies will thereby lose all interest on the amounts due to them until the monthly accounts have been settled.
The Companies regret that they are unable to meet the views of the committee with regard to the rehabilitation of the old system, as the separate working arrangements which the Companies have recently inaugurated ronder the said system impracticable.
In order, however, as far as possible to meet the wishes of the committed the Companies ar willing to reduce the amount of the deposit to one-half, on the understanding that the minimum sun received ou deposit shall as hitherto be fixed at $25, and that the Companies reserve the right to render half monthly accounts.We are, deir Sir, Yours faithfully,
(Sd. J. M. BECK. Superintendent, E. E. Teleg. Co
(Sd.) OLAF NIELSEN, Superintendent G. N. Teleg, Co
A.
R. Lowe, Esq
Secretary, Hongkong General Chamber
of Commerce.
The Chairman said that though the result of the correspondence was not entirely as satisfac- tory as could have been wished, still better terms had been obtained from the Companies
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munity.
EXPLOSIVES ON BOARD STEAMERS IN THE HARBOUR. The following letter was read:— Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.
Hongkong, 26th January, 1904. Sir, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th ultimo enclosing copy of the new regulations issued by the Acting Harbour Master for the guidance of officers in his department in dealing with vessels arriving in the harbour and carrying small quantities of daugerous goods.
(2.) In reply I am instructed to state that the Committee of this Chamber regret the Government's inability to carry out more fully their suggestions for the greater relaxation of the law in this matter so as to allow vessels to prcoeed direct to their berths in cases where the quantity of ammunition carried is small, and I am to point out that unless the Harbour Office official boards a vessel immediately on arrival, and before anchoring, the efficiency of the new regulations will be much impaired, un- less the master of a vessel carrying dangerous goods in small quantities not exceeding those laid down in regulation No. 1 is free to carry on to the o dinary anchorage without fear of a fine being imposed.
The Committee have every wish that the Government should know of all ammunition arriving in the Colony so as to control the morements of such goods, but they are unable to understand why the information collected by the boarding officers from the master of a vessel waiting to be allowed to anchor should be any
more accurate than that obtained in the same manner after her arrival at the ordinary mer- chant vessel anchorage, particularly as a permit is required to land dangerous goods even in small quantities. They therefore trust that His Exc leucy the Officer Administering the Government will authorise the addition to the new regulations of a clause suggested in the latter half of paragraph so as to allow the rossel to proceed direct to her anchorage or wharf.-I have the houour to be, Sir, your obedient servant.
(Sd.) A. R. Lowe, Secretary. Hou. A. M. Thomson,
Acting Colonial Secretary:
JAPANESE MARKETS AND HONGKONG SUGAR,
[Copy]
To the Editor of the "Daily Press."
Japanese Consulate,
Hongkong, 16th January. Sir,In the leading article of your to-day's issue, a mention was made about Japan markets being closed against the refined sugar of Hong. kong by prohíbisivo tariffs, and as I consider this statement is apt to give oue rather an erroneous impression of the real fact, I request you to spare your valuable space for this letter.
The import duties in Japan on sugir accor- ding to the existing tariffs which came into force on 1st January, 1899, are as follows:
Up to No. 14 Dutch standard, 5 per cent. ad. val., or 210 yen per picul.
From No. 15 to 20, 10 per cent. ad. val., or .748 per picul.
Upward No. 20, 10 per cent, ad. val., or 827 yon per picul.
Apart from the import duty, the consumption tax is equally payable by imported sugar as well as home products. Thus the advantage derived by the Japanese sugar refiners under the exist ing tariffs is limited to the difference of 5 per cent. between the import duty on raw sugar and that on refined. Furthermore, this dis- crimination had originally been aimed not against the fres Hongkong sugar bat against. the bounty-fed Continental sugar with which Japan's markets had been “dumped" for some | time past.
In spite of the difference in the import duty mentioned above, during the year 1903 as much as five and a half million yens' worth of refined was imported into Japan from Hongkong and other places.
I trust I have already given sufficient reasons to be able to claim that so far as sugar tariffs of Japan are concerned, they are not "prohibi- tive," though they are, no doubt, to some extent
preferential."Yours, etc.,
MASANICHI NOMA. Consul for Japan,
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