There appear to be three items on which it is clear that a saving should be effected. "They are the Military Contribution, the enormous Expenditure on public works. To Economise on the latter as Sir Dr. Macdonald clearly thinks the last item would be, by delaying works important to the sanitary state of the Colony - the future development of its resources & consequently its capacity for future improvement & recovery from its present depression.
With regard to the Military Contribution. This is a matter of opinion that merely would frame issues of Ministry that I bring to contrary references. It would be unfair towards other Colonies & to the Imperial Government to relieve Hong Kong entirely from that charge but he nonetheless proposed & that consequently would recommend that the Colony should for the present be relieved from the payment of the arrears on that account and those arrears should be...