or-Kong 2/4617
328
Treasury Letter of the 19th August 1893 11771
a copy
" 93
1775793.
of which accompanied the War Office letter of the 19th
October last Hong-Kong 2
4,597
Your Department and the
Colony have long been aware that some proportion of the
cost of the new Barracks would be asked for from the
Colony, but from various causes, some of them in connec
tion with the proposed Praya Scheme, it has not been
practicable to form a fairly correct scheme of require-
ments at an earlier date
(10) As to the amount of expenditure, which will
fall on the Colony, I am to observe that Contracts for
building in Hong-Kong are made in dollars, and that the
purchasing power of silver with regard to local labour
and materials has so far not fallen so much as it has
with respect to gold.
(11) I am to add that the burden on the Colony
would consequently be more correctly expressed in
Dollars than in sterling and with less chance of mis-
conception.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
Ralphe Thampton