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Urgent: 454
11, The Drive,
Golder's Green. N.F.4.
April 4th, 1918,
To The Under Secretary of State,
sir,
The Colonial Office, London.
16853 REC!
Hong Kong South Development s 6 APR 18
With reference to my interview with your representative
at the Colonial Office on the 3rd, instant, I have the honour
to submit a brief statement in connection with the above scheme,
as requested by him, and trust this will receive your most
sympathetic and favourable consideration.
As the result of considerable work during the year 1912,
a proposal was submitted to His Excellency the Governor of Hong
Kong, early in 1913, for the development of the South of the Island.
Following that interview and after protracted negotiations, a
draft Agreement between the promotors of the scheme and the
Government was passed by the Legislative Council in July 1914,
and intimation of the Secretary of State's approval was received
some time later. Before the Agreement could be executed the
promotors would be required to furnish the Government with
satisfactory proof of their financial ability to carry the scheme
into effect.
The question of finance had been one of the earliest
dealt with. Before the scheme was submitted to the Government
it had been carefully considered by a financial expert who was
satisfied that a Company could be floated in Hong Kong if the
Government granted a reasonable concession. In any event this
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