CO129-449 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [7-9] — Page 230

THE APPEAL TRIBUNAL

had been reduced to a minimum and there were no men of military age employed in it, so that he did not think that it needed any further reference. Five-sixths of the Arm's other staff was concerned with shipping business and the remaining one- sixth with the business of managing the Taikoo Sugar Refinery. As the Sugar Refinery concerned the smaller staff he would refer to that first. The sugar re- Enery business in the Far East was in- augurated in this Colony and the Colony had for many years a monopoly in the Far East The Taikoo establishment was the largest in Asia, but those happy days had gone and the monopoly had long passed away. For the past twenty years there had been competition from other quarters. Formerly Hongkong supplied

the refined sugar that went to Japan, but now Japan had established refineries of her own. Formosa was also a great Bugar producing country, and there also sugar refineries had been established. That had compelled them to change their ruethods of doing business, and under these competitive conditions a great deal more work was imposed upon the office staff, and be submitted that to conduct the business with a head office staff of less than three men was simply out of the question. Three men in that office were all holding positions of trust. If the refinery was forced to curtail its activities-reduos its work-some hundreds of local workmen would be thrown out of employment, apart from any other con- ideration. It was one of the largest in- dustries and labour employers in the Colony and was, he believed, recognised As a very important saset of the Colony. Four-Efths of the remainder of the staff were occupied with shipping, and all the shipping they handled with the exception of one steamer on the Canton river was doing direct Government work. Dealing with the China Navigation Company, which owned and managed conating and river vessels only, all the ships with the exception of river craft were on full or liner requisition to the British Govern. ment. More than fifty vessels were to be employed, and to run such a business it would be absolutely necessary that there should be a reasonably efficient staff. If there was not, the greatest dangers would be incurred; there would be delays, con-

fusion, loss, and the service conducted in

the interest of the Government would be

interfered with. importance attached to that work he With regard to the would like to read a letter from the Ministry of Shipping to the Controller of Passports in connection with the grant ing of a passport to one of their return- ed men who arrived here a few days ago. There was a question as to a passport being granted to that man in England as a result of the Man-Power Bill and an appeal was made to the Ministry of Shipping to Bee whether they could

aasist.

(The letter containing a strong recom- mendation from the Ministry of Ship- ping to the Passport Office to the effect that the member of the firm's staff then in England should receive a passport was read.}

Replying to Hia Excellency, Mr. Thomson said that this man's age was, he thought, about 34 or 35. He had been long time in the East. With regard to the ocean steamers, the agencies of the Ocean and China Mutual Steamship Com. panies of Liverpool, all the steamers of those lines that had not been directly taken up by the Government for trans- port work were under liner requisition to the Government and were working under similar conditions to the China Navigation Company The boata that coming to China, Japan and maintain were running under liner requisition and

ing the service across the Pacific, had carried a great number of troops, many thousands of coolies and essential food- stuffs for Great Britain. They were needed in Great Britain. The Hongkong only filled with essential cargo urgently

office had the control of those lines for the Far East and had a great deal of work to do. They controlled all the busi ness done in the Far East, including Shanghai, Japan, the ports of the Pacific coast of America, Singapore, the Straits Settlements, Java and Colombo. The work of the department had not decreased, and the risks arising from excessive reduction of the staff were even greater than in the case of coanting vessels, because they were Jarger vessels making longer voyages and in direct communication with Great Britain. He had endeavoured to obtain

more

NOIDA

Agures regarding British tonnage which came into the port of Hongkong, and as

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