No.50.
Sir,
0.0. 31432 Rece NOV O
General Post Office,
Hongkong, 19th January, 1899.
127
With reference to your letter of the 16th November last, I have the honour to inform you that I submitted the question of the refund of payments made in respect of transit of mails between Colombo and Bombay and to state that before coming to a decision His Excellency the Governor would be glad to learn what meaning you attach to the following extract from your Directors' letter:
"Seeing that the mails were shipped for a port off the Contract Lines, and it was no fault of ours that they were not conveyed to destination as intended in our steamers"
H.A. Ritchie, Esq.
Superintendent, P. & O. S. N. Co.,
I have etc,
(Sd) A. Thomson.
Postmaster General.