1
No 20
6.9
50957/26
101
C.O
1815€
REP
Br. 24 MAR 9,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG. 23rd, January, 1919.
My Lord,
I have the honour to acknowledge the
receipt of Mr. Long's Despatch No. 268 of the 5th. November regarding the insurance of men sent to India from this
Colony under the local Conscription Ordinance.
2.
Thirty men in all are affected, of whom
ten are married; and the maximum liability therefore amounts
to £40,000. Inquiry made locally as to the re-insurance of
this liability shows that the cost would be out of all pro-
-portion to the risk run.
3.
The Unofficial Members of the Legislative
Council were, at the inception of the scheme, unanimously in
favour of the risk being borne by the Colony; at a time when
it was anticipated that the number of men involved would be
considerably in excess of thirty. On receipt of the Despatch
under reply I consulted the Executive Council, who concurred
that re-insurance was inadvisable, having regard to the cost, and especially to the fact that hostilities had ceased since the Despatch was written.
4.
I would suggest therefore that the
Colony should continue to carry the liability, without re-
-insurance.
I have the honour to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient servant, had ever n
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
Officer Administering the Government.
&c..
VISCOUNT MILNER, G.C.B.,
*o.,