CO129-454 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1919 [4-6] — Page 61

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2.

In about the year 1914 the Government of Hong Kong

intimated its intention of bringing the services referred

to under Government control. Your Petitioners thereupon

communicated with the Government and applied for the concess-

ion of such services to be granted to them in view of their

past services in originating, organizing and extending such

services at their own risk to the great benefit and conveni-

ence of the travelling public.

3. Your Petitioners offered to abide by my conditions

the Government thought fit to impose and to pay any rent

the Government thought reasonable.in respect of the Ferry

Services carried on by them.

4.

Ultimately the Govemment put the services up to tender

for a period of three years from the First day of January

1919.

5.

Your Petitioners recognized that, when conditions

permitted the building of the new boats contemplated by the

conditions of tender, a new set of circumstances would arise

under which their contention that the concession should be

continued to them could not reasonably be maintained but

inasmuch as it was recognized by the short term of the

advertized concession 1.e. three years, that conditions would not permit such new boats to be built in the immediate future, your Petitioners asked that they might be allowed to continue conducting the services until such time as it

was possible for new boats to be built.

6 Your Petitioners further submitted to the Government

that they should under any circumstances have preferential

consideration when the tenders were being considered.

7.

Your Petitioners sent in a tender for the services but

the concession was awarded to rival tenderers who it is