CO129-501-4 Chinese situation- correspondence concerning Shamoan steamship service- running between Hong Kong and Canton 8-1-1927 - 27-7-1927 — Page 14

Ne CONFIDENTIAL.

› APR 1927

16

14

LCOL

COL OFFICE

나

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG,

16th March, 1927.

205

خست

19262626

31

peny

sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge the

receipt of your telegram of 18th January, regarding the

river steamer service between Hong Kong and Canton and

to state that I have advanced to the Companies concerned

on behalf of the Foreign Office half of the sum of

$65,323.22 mentioned in my confidential despatch of 9th

September, 1926. 1 shall be glad if the Crown Agents

may be instructed to recover the equivalent of this sum

and credit it to Hong Kong funds.

2.

"to fall

I have also with the unanimous approval

of the Executive Council and of the Finance Committee

of the Legislative Council paid to these Companies from Colonial funds the whole of the remaining half of, the

sum in question rather than allow this further loss on

the steamboat companies, though I need hardly add that

all responsible opinion in the Colony considers that the

sum should have been paid by His Majesty's Government. The daily steamer service helped to maintain the impression

that prestige was of more account to Great Britain than

dollars. It did more. it forced the strike pickets to

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LIEUTENANT COLONEL L.C.M.S. AMERY, M.P.,

&c.,

&c.,

&c.

cane