..
W
H.Kong 1029
ALL COMMUNICATIONS
TO BE ADDRESSED TO THE
CROWN AGENTS FOR THE COLONIES,
THE ABOVE REFERENCE AND THE
DATE OF THIS LETTER BEING QUOTED.
TELEGRAMS,"GROWN, LONDON”
TELEPHONE 1632 VICTORIA.
ENCLOSURES
sir,
CROWN
AGENTS
COLONI
FOR
CO
7215
• 4 MAR
1
22
WHITEHALL CARDENS,
LONDON, S. W.
2nd March 1911
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
You
To/
of your letter o.1714 of the 1st February enclosing a
copy of a despatch from the Gove mor of Hong Kong respect-
ing a contract with the Horsehay Co. for the supply of
structural steel work for that Colony, Our observations
are requested on the subject.
The
2. The Governor states that the delay has been
the subject of undeserved strictures upon the Public Works
Department in the local press, and may involve the payment of $4,586 as compensation to a local contractor. Governor accordingly asks whether a penalty can be recovered from the Horsehay Co. and credited to the Government of Hong
Kong. We consider the answer to this question to be in the negative. Leaving out of consideration the fact that the contract was settled up and final payment made to the con-
trotor more than a year ago, which would place us at a great disadvantage in any attempt to re-open the matter, most of the circumatshces which he led the Governor to raise
this question arise out of mat te re for which the Horsehay Company have no responsibility. The only question is,
whether under their contract with us
their action was such
as to render them liable to a deduction for liquidated
The Under Secretary of State,
8:0 &c &o
Colonial Office.
dannge 9