CO129-386 - Public Offices & Others - 1911 — Page 164

30104/H.Kong

alt private letter ( on quarto for Sir J. Anderson's sig. )

12.

Robert Chalmers, K.C.B.

Collins

Fiddes

J. Anderson

Answer atta

Private

13

Dec. lll.

162

Dear Chalmers,

I am writing about your official

letter of the 27th of Nov., No. 20455,

inviting us to pay back 20 per cent of the

opium grants to H.Kong by way of Military

Contribution.

As your letter truly says, no mention was

made when the Grants were under discussion

of any intention to exempt them from assess-

ment for Mil. Cont. From this T.Ls. assumed that

Mil. Cont. would be paid on the Grants and

fixed the Grants on that basis. We on the

other hand assumed that in such a case as

where Parliament was asked to make Grants

this

to meet part of a deficit brought about by

the Opium policy of H.M.G. the idea of taking

back with one hand a fifth of the me amount

tendered in the other belonged to the realms

of jest, wherein

of the Preasury

Army Council and the 1.0.

usually disport tham-