CO129-393 - Governor Sir May - 1912 [11] — Page 88

束

CONF

DENTIA L.

76

C.O.

38156

81

Rec?

RESP 2 DEC 12

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 6th. November, 1912.

to

Sir,

In paragraph 7 of my Confidential Despatch of 243/9 the 16th. August, I referred to the stoppage of the supply of lime-

-stone to the Green Island Cement Company in this Colony. I regret to say that the matter has not been settled yet.

2.

This Company is almost entirely dependent on the Canton Province for its supply of limestone. The Company was established in 1889 and has drawn its supplies from that Province

ever since. Of late years they have obtained it from Chinese on

the North and West Rivers (not the East River as stated in my

Despatch under reference) under contracts dating from 1904 and

1906. In 1908 a Cement Factory under Government auspices was

established in Canton. But this did not cause any interference with the supply to the Green Island Cement Company till the spring of this year.

3.

In April last the Director of the Canton

Cement Works sent a Petition to the Board of Industry asking that the Government should prohibit the opening of limestone quarries

within the Canton Province without the consent of the Government

and that the export of limestone from the Province should be pro-

-hibited.

4.

Soon afterwards the Green Island Cement Company drew the attention of this Government to a Notification issued by

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,

&o...

&C..

the