C. O.
97:
145
455
20 JAN 81
My Lord,
Hongkong 28th October 1880
We have the honour to lay before your Lordship the following circumstances and the Enclosed correspondence, relating to the granting of a license, by the Governor in Council, to the China Sugar Refining Company Limited, of which we are General Agents, to carry on the distillation of spirits in premises, known as Hongkong Distillery, recently acquired by the Company.
We deeply regret to trouble your Lordship with this matter, but our duty to the Company leaves us no choice, but to appeal against the decision of the Government, which we deem to be arbitrary and oppressive.
Previously to the year 1869, the distillation of spirits, within the Colony, had been forbidden by law, but in that year, the refining of sugar having recently become an industry in the Colony,
The Right Honourable
The Earl of Kimberley,
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies,
London.