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Navigation Company by which Your Lordship will see that the Allowance hitherto paid to the Marine Porters while they had to stay at Singapore, has & been stopped.
The arrangement under which this allowance was made was settled through the Imperial Port office, and it has probably been overlooked by the Directors of the P. and O. Company that any alteration should be reported to and approved by that Department.
Shortly the matter stands thus: In lieu of the expense of carrying 23 Sorters between this Port and Shanghai as required by Article 22 of the Contract of 8 July, 1874, the Company agreed to give an allowance to the Sorters who were necessarily detained at Singapore - the work of sorting for Ports North of Hongkong being carried out in the head office. It agreed, however, that the whole expenditure under this head should not exceed £100 per annum.
I should be obliged by Your Lordship referring the case to Her Majesty's Minister General for there seem to me ...
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