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Prison Printery in exchange for a share in a
reconstituted Company in which the Government
would have a majority share; the Colonial
Government contracting with the new Company
as in (1).
Sir G. Northcote is of the opinion that apart from any
legal claim, the Government is under some moral obligation
to Noronha & Company. The Company may be dependent upon
Government orders, in which case the establishment of a
Government Press might result in considerable hardship to
the Company.
Of the two alternatives, I prefer (2) to (1) for
the reason that the Government would then be able to control
costs and the handling of confidential work. But contracts
entered into with the new Company would require careful
drafting by someone with the requisite technical knowledge. (As a matter of interest I put up a typical Stationery Office contract), and it would be an advantage if all requisitions
for printing and Stationery made by the various Government
departments could be centralized in and authorised by an
official possessing the requisite knowledge to enable him to
scrutinize them efficiently.
Sir G. Northcote states that it is agreed in
principle that the printing should be taken from the prison and that its amalgamation with Noronha & Company in some way is clearly desirable, and it is now for consideration whether alternative (2) can be legally effected, and, if so, whether
there are any objections to it on grounds of principle.
I am not aware of any precedent.
Unfortunately this file was inadvertently put
aside