CO129-282 - Acting Governor Major Gen Black - 1898 [3-4] — Page 91

the balances at the Hong-Kong & Shanghai Bank should be

kept within the limit of $125,000, afterwards raised to

$200,000 by C.0. D. 57 of 30th.March,1893. This language was

apparently taken to mean that so long as the balances at

the Hong-Kong & Shanghai Bank did not exceed at first

$125,000 and subsequently $200,000 there was no need to

open a second current account at another Bank for the Praya

Fund. Whether that interpretation was adopted or not, the

fact remains that no second current account with another

Bank for the Praya has ever been opened, though Praya Funds

have been placed on fixed deposit at other Banks. Subsequent -

ly in his despatch No.248 of the 22nd. October, 1892, the Se-

cretary of State reiterated the instructions given by Lord

Knutsford as to the opening of a separate current account

for the Praya Reclamation Fund at the Chartered Bank. To

this despatch the Acting Governor replied in Despatch No.36

of 3rd. February 1893 as follows:-"I should mention that no

deposit on current account for the Praya Reclamation Fund

has been made with the Chartered Bank as that Bank would

2 only, allow interest at the rate of per cent on such ac-

count while the Hong-Kong (sic), allows interest at the rate

of 4 per cent on it, and as it was thought that the inten-

tion of Your Loraship's instructions was met by withdraw-

ing $75,000 from the latter and placing it in the former

ม

bank. To this the Marquess of Ripon replied by despatch

No.

90

th