CO129-485 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1924 [8-12] — Page 489

:

467

The

* Offer

made.

on the lening on which it was

we have at the

Vare

Feine

Explained privately to Stubles the reasons

for the delay

for surecully

lat January, 1924.

Jean Warthunytor Brown

Your letter of the 23rd December to the Secretary of State. The 9250,000 offered by Hong Kong represents the profits made by the Colonial Revirment y its Shipping Control operations, which began in 1917 and ended in January 1919, The site if therefore altogether out- side ordinary revenue, and has been held in a suspense account pending a decision as to its disposal. It has, I believe, always been felt

in Hong Kong that the money should not be treated as part of the revenue of the Colony but should be devot-

ed to some special object. The present offor is a

very happy inspiration.

Im

The Secretary of State said is his previous

letter, if the mount was formally credited to

revenue, military contribution could be levied on

it. It would perhaps have been more exact to say

that it would become assessable for military con-

tribution. In the case of Hong Kong, the contri-

bution is at the rate of 20% of actual revenue,