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proposal by your Petitioners for the provision of a motor bus service along the thoroughfares mentioned. To this letter your Petitioners received no acknowledg- ment other than a printed form of receipt.
19. By Regulations made by His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government-in-Council under Section 3 of the Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance 1912 on the 19th day of November 1927 it was provided that notwithstanding the provisions of the Public motor vehicle services, Regulations made by the Governor-in-Council under the Vehicles and Traffic Regulations Ordinance 1912 and set forth on pages 655 to 665 of the Regulations of Hong Kong 1844 to 1925 the Governor-in-Council should have power without calling for tenders to grant rights and to issue licences to maintain public motor bus services exclusive and otherwise for such periods at such fees royal- ties or other consideration and upon such terms and conditions as the Governor-in- Council shall see fit.
20. The publication of this Regulation did not convey any intimation to your Petitioners that Government had changed its views as to whether or not Queen's Road and the other Roads mentioned were too narrow for the service of motor buses.
21. On the 31st December 1927 your Petitioners' Manager had an interview with the Honourable the Captain Superintendent of Police. At that interview the Captain Superintendent of Police agreed that it had been found possible to run buses along Queen's Road and stated that he was considering the question of some arrange- ment with a view to a Bus service being operated from Causeway Bay to Whitty Street by Caroline Road, Queen's Road East, Queen's Road Central and Queen's Road West.
Your Petitioners' Manager then informed Mr. Wolfe that the offer contained in your Petitioners' letter to the Colonial Secretary of the 12th February 1925 (and re- peated on August 9th 1927) still held good, and further that your Petitioners were quite prepared to undertake all the motor bus services, as well as the Tramway services and Trolley Vehicle services which were then, or which at any future period might be, required in the Colony.
22. On the 10th of January 1928 your Petitioners wrote to the Honourable the Colonial Secretary making application for authority to operate a service of motor buses over their tramway route.
23. On the 24th February 1928 your Petitioners addressed a letter as follows to the Honourable the Captain Superintendent of Police :—
"Sir,
"I beg to inform you that the Board of Directors of this Company intend to "order six motor omnibuses which will be 25-seaters for first class passengres only.
"We propose to run these buses on such route or routes as may be agreed with "the Government either in Hong Kong, Kowloon or the New Territories.
"We are still anxious to run the service via Caroline Road, Morrison Gap Road, "'Queen's Road East, Queen's Road Central and Queen's Road West in accordance with "our application to Government dated February 12th 1925 but there is another service "we now seek power to operate. This is between Taikoo and Blake Pier by the "route marked red on the accompanying map. This route would serve Quarry Bay, Tsat Tsz Mui Bathing Club, the Yacht Club, the Polo Club, the Lee Theatre, the "Craigengower Club, the Police Club, the Civil Service Club and the Royal Naval "'Hospital.
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"Although six months will probably elapse before the buses can be delivered in "Hong Kong I hope we may receive your sanction to the operation of this service at "as early a date as possible so that we may make certain preliminary arrangements.
"I am directed to refer to your letter of the 18th ultimo and to say that the "Board concurs in most of your reasons for desiring a motor bus service along Queen's "Road. To use your own words "A number of new factors have come to light since "1925" when our proposal to run buses along Queen's Road was turned down and as "one of these new factors is that buses have been successfully using Queen's Road "East for many months it is felt that the Government should now give us the per- "mission we sought 3 years ago to operate the Queen's Road service.
"The Board feels that if it had had buses actually available you might have "given such permission two years ago or when it appeared that the Government's "reasons for withholding consent to our application of February 1925 no longer held "good. Hence the Board's intention to place a preliminary order for vehicles which "it is hoped you will allow us to put into service towards the end of the present year.
"I have the honour to be etc.'
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24. To that letter your Petitioners received a reply from the Captain Superin- tendent of Police informing them that the question of motor bus services was coming up for decision very shortly and that he hoped to be in a position to give a reply before very long. However, in the meantime he wished it to be understood that any orders that your Petitioners give for buses would be given entirely on their own initiative and that so far as he was concerned your Petitioners were in no way authorised to put them on the streets of Hong Kong at present and that with reference to the applica- tion dealing with the route Taikoo to Blake Pier he would endeavour to deal with this matter after the Governor-in-Council had considered the services in Hong Kong and the allotment of them.
25. On the 11th June 1928 the Honourable the Colonial Secretary wrote to your Petitioners giving them permission to operate a service of motor buses over their tramway routes. The service to be confined to the routes operated by the tramways including Happy Valley.
26. In the meantime in the course of the year 1928 permission was granted by Government to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited to run a service of motor buses between Whitty Street and Causeway Bay via Queen's Road West, Queen's Road Central and Queen's Road East and this service was inaugurated in October 1928.
27. Later the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited buses were allowed to extend their route first through Tai Hang Village to Whitfield and afterwards to ex- tend to Kennedy Town.
28. Your Petitioners would point out that although in 1925 Government con- sidered that the roads referred to were too narrow for motor omnibuses, yet when the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited's service started, it was started with the Vulcan "Princess" bus, a 35-seater than which there is probably no bigger single deck four-wheel bus used in Great Britain and when used there are only licensed for use where the roads are wide and particularly suitable for such buses. This is in ac- cordance with the circular from the Minister of Transport under date the 11th August 1927 para. 12, which lays down that as a general practice local authorities should not license omnibuses which exceed 26′0′′ in overall length.
29. The competition of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotel's buses by their operation over these routes has (as was anticipated by your Petitioners) caused a very serious loss to them. The profits of your Petitioners for the nine months ending
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