DENTI A L.
Sir,
7 318
6916 SEP 12
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG, 16th. August, 1912.
26748
Since the date of my Confidential Despatch of the 23rd. ultimo several articles have appeared in the Chinese Press both in Canton and in Hongkong giving particulars of the formation of an organisation called the Canton and Hongkong Financial Company for the purpose of re-habilitating the unsecured issue of notes made by the Provisional Government of the Canton Province on the lines indicated in enclosure 2 in that Despatch.
The announcement of the formation of the Company resulted in a
spasmodic fall in the discount on the notes to 10 per centum. But the discount quickly rose again and is now at 27 per centum.
2.
In connection with these articles the
Registrar-General, whom I had instructed to inform Hongkong
Merchants concerned that they should not have embarked on this
enterprise without consulting this Goverment and to warn them of the financial unsoundness of the scheme, reported to me that no sound Len of business in Hongkong were connected with the scheme; that its principal promoter was Li Yuk-tong (see paragraph 9 of my
Despatch under reference) whose name was enough to damn it; that
collections for the Company were being made in Hongkong, and that while the collection was far from popular many Chinese Firms were
likely to subscribe only because they dare not refuse.
HE RIGHT HONOURABLE
After
LEWIS HARCOURT, H.P.,
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