892
ICHO. 4-4.
No.
Sir,
No.
66
OFFICE
385
0092
Apo PUT 14 MAR 00]
Government House,
Hongkong 9th February 1900.
3499
Ao
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No.2 of the 4th ultimo, in which you ask what expenses will probably be incurred in carrying out the scheme mentioned in my despatch No.327 of the 15th November, relating to the purchase of one or two Chattanooga Sugar Mills for use in the New Territory, and whether that expense is to be met out of the vote for $10,000 under the head of "Miscellaneous Services" connected with the New Territory.
2. In view of my expectation that the mills will ultimately be paid for by the Chinese themselves, I do not consider it advisable to charge the amount to the vote of $10,000, but to debit it to Advance Account. This will simplify the repayment of the sum to the Colonial Treasury.
3. The cost of each mill is under £10, and as the services of the Superintendent of the Botanical and Afforestation Department and other officers of the Government have been freely bestowed in explaining the mechanism of the machines to the Chinese, I do not anticipate that the total expenses incurred will exceed about £20.
4.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
JOSIP CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.,
2270
&c.*
12
&c. J
80.s
No 340.