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"contribution, though he was prepared to direct the Governor to propose to the Legislative Council an annual contribution not exceeding £4000." There is nothing in the subsequent correspondence that has been forwarded to me to indicate that the Colonial Office has since modified the view which it entertained in 1882 respecting the non-responsibility of this Colony, which appears to be based on the fact that Hongkong had no voice in the settlement of the new contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Company, which could hardly be considered as absolutely necessary for the maintenance of postal communication.
3. If this conclusion is right, I submit that the Official Members of the Legislative Council can hardly be called on to vote, against their convictions and as an imperative Government measure, the payment of a sum which the Secretary of State is not prepared to press against the Colonial...