CO129-370 - Governor Sir Lugard & Public Offices - 1910 [12] — Page 501

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as to the interest of Hong Kong in those Agencies My Lords

naturally desired to treat as a whole Their obligations to

the Colony and the amount of relief which Colonial revenues

might reasonably expect.

3 They have not yet, however, received the final

report of the Postmaster General on the subject of the

Agencies, and They feel that in deference to Lord Creve's

urgent request it is necessary to come to some decision as

to the opium grant, or at least as to the amount to be

provided for that purpose in the Colonial ServicesEstimate

for 1910-11.

The amount of direct loss of revenue

given in the Governor'e telegram of the 5th October, was $225,860

for "next financial year", which My Lords understand (from

details subsequently furnished in the extract from a des-

patch which accompanied Mr. Cox's letter of the 23rd

13609 December), to be the Colonial financial year 1910.

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subsequent years the expected loss was stated to be $270,660.

For

5" Sir F. Lugard now asks, according to the copy

of a telegram of 23rd February, forwarded without comment of the Secretary of State, that a further sum of $16,747, for compensation for closing of opium divans, may be added to the "sum (8) mentioned my despatch of 11th November". My Lords are not clear how these words are to be read, but they assume that the compensation is payable once for all in 1910, and has no bearing on subsequent years.

I am however to point out that the Colonial Office despatch of 8th January 1909 to Sir F. Lugard stated in paragraph 6

that