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had a grievance in being deprived of the surplus (if any) and my predecessor agreed that the whole of it should be assigned to them, so the question as to their legal rights is somewhat academic. I would however point out that if the Fund is not taken over, it is practically certain that the actuary will advise that it would not be prudent to distribute the whole of the surplus which a valuation might disclose, but a substantial portion such as one quarter, as in the case of Ceylon, would have to be retained in order to form a reserve against possible adverse fluctuations in the future.
14. For the reasons which I have given above I must ask that this matter may be reconsidered, and that Hongkong may be brought into line with the neighbouring administrations of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States.
In order to leave the field clear for further