CO129-455 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1919 [7-9] — Page 263

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23 CT 19

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG. 25th August, 1919.

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My Lord,

With reference to my telegram of the 11th July, I have the honour to forward here with a complete set of the reports furnished by the liquidators of the various enemy firms in the Colony together with a list of the liquidated firms, showing the position of the balances now lodged with the Custodian of Enemy Property, and a statement of enemy surplus assets invested by the Crow Agents for the Colonies.

2.

Generally speaking, as regards the

business of the enemy firms, it is noteworthy that the liquidators have not given particulars of the various businesses carried on. In some cases, they have themselves taken over businesses which were previously carried on by the enemy firms. It is apparent, however, that apart from German dyes, and to a certain extent machinery and arms and ammuni- -tion, the greater part of the paying import trade carried on by these firms was in British goods of chiefly Manchester and Bradford manufacture. With the ground work of paying agencies for these goods they were able to carry on certain lines of German goods, the profit from which was neither great nor regular. The obvious inference from this is that certain Manchester and Bradford firms found the German business houses in Hongkong able to give them more profitable business than

were the British firms.

RIGHT HONOURABLE

VISCOUNT MILNER, G.C.B.,

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&c..

&c.

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