(2)
40
in amount for each month in the year; and as the rate of
exchange over the periods in question ranged from 2/4 to
3/6 any variation in the monthly sterling expenditure of
the Military might make a large difference in the dollar
equivalents and thus materially affect the result of the
calculation.
4.
But apart from this criticism of the method
of arriving at the amounts of overpayments in dollars, I
still cannot see my way to agree to anything but a sterling
amount equal to the sterling value of the dollars at the
time at which the overpayments were made for the following
reasons:-
The War Office accounts are unifomly kept
in sterling, and the cost of the Hong Kong Garrison and the
amount of the Colonial Military Contribution and any excess
of cost over contribution or contribution over cost are
alike reported in them in sterling. There is no ground for
treating the Military Contribution as anything but a sterling
debt, paid in sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at
the day of payment. It is to the sterling figures that this
Government signifies its agreement, and it is difficult to
see why this sudden deviation should be made from the
sterling in favour of the dollar denominator solely for the
purpose of calculating the amount of overpayment. be pertinent to enquire whether the War Office would have
adopted the dollar denominator if repayment had been
required in March, 1920, when the Hong Kong Treasury rate
of exchange was 5/6 or in April, 1920, when it was 4/11.
Again, it is customary for the Treasury chest
officer in Hong Kong to provide funds for local Imperial
Expenditure by the sale of sterling bills on London, and
It may
it