58
2.
In about the year 1914 the Government of Hong Kong
intimated its intention of bringing the services referred
to under Government control. Your Petitioners thereupon
communicated with the Government and applied for the concess-
ion of such services to be granted to them in view of their
past services in originating, organizing and extending such
services at their own risk to the great benefit and conveni-
ence of the travelling public.
3. Your Petitioners offered to abide by my conditions
the Government thought fit to impose and to pay any rent
the Government thought reasonable.in respect of the Ferry
Services carried on by them.
4.
Ultimately the Govemment put the services up to tender
for a period of three years from the First day of January
1919.
5.
Your Petitioners recognized that, when conditions
permitted the building of the new boats contemplated by the
conditions of tender, a new set of circumstances would arise
under which their contention that the concession should be
continued to them could not reasonably be maintained but
inasmuch as it was recognized by the short term of the
advertized concession 1.e. three years, that conditions would not permit such new boats to be built in the immediate future, your Petitioners asked that they might be allowed to continue conducting the services until such time as it
was possible for new boats to be built.
6 Your Petitioners further submitted to the Government
that they should under any circumstances have preferential
consideration when the tenders were being considered.
7.
Your Petitioners sent in a tender for the services but
the concession was awarded to rival tenderers who it is