CO129-400 - Governor Sir May - 1913 [3-4] — Page 151

1

N° 95.

148

C.O.

11854

Rec

Seat 10 APR 13

་-་་

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 20th. March, 1913.

سمجھ کچھ اس پرشین

.do.

sir,

With reference to your Despatch No. 335 of the

72. 7th. of November last, I have the honour to inform you that the

Licensing Board has now given notice to the licensees of the three existing houses out of the 4 referred to in paragraph 7 of my

Despatch No. 311 of the 30th. of August last that their licences will not in any event be renewed after the 30th. of November, 1915.

When these houses shall have been closed there

will not exist in the Colony a single public house in the ordinary

acceptance of that term, for the bars of first class Hotels can

hardly be so described.

2.

In regard to the matter of compensation to the licensees under notice who may still be holding licences in 1915,

I would ask your re-consideration of the method by which it is to

be measured. In my opinion the compensation (half the amount claim-

-ed by the licensees) recommended by the Licensing Board in their

letter of 30th. December, 1910, is not excessive having regard to

the considerable outlay the licensees have made on furniture, including bar fittings, which, on the cessation of their business

will be valueless.

It is not possible to calculate satisfactorily the annual profits of these houses, and I consider that a maximum

of $3,000 is not adequate compensation.

The amounts involved are as follow:-

HE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,

&C.,

&c.,

&C...

Imperial