CO129-555-1 Hong Kong Tramways Ltd.- petition 10-7-1935 - 4-10-1935 — Page 18

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the Tramway Ordinance and for exemption from any future

payment of royalty on the grounds of "their undertaking

having been so seriously depreciated in value as a result of the competition authorised by Government" (vide para-

graph 49 of that petition, Enclosure No.7 to Appendix E

page 44 of the present petition). In regard to this I would again invite attention to the statement in paragraph 3 above of the dividends paid by the Company.

8.

In paragraph 13 the Petitioner states that

it "does not claim that no other party should be permitted to operate Motor Buses but does emphatically claim that it should be given fair opportunity of negotiating the

rights for such services".

That opportunity was given when by Government Notification No. S.19 of 2nd September, 1932, tenders were invited for the exclusive right to operate motor bus services, either for the whole of the Colony including the New Territories, or separately, for the Island of Hong Kong and for the whole of Kowloon Peninsula including the New Territories. That Notification forms Appendix G of the petition. The tender of the China Motor Bus Company in respect of Hong Kong island was accepted by this Govern-

ment in preference to that of the Hong Kong Tramways. The grant of an exclusive licence to the China Motor Bus Company involved the determination without compensation of the Hong

Kong and Shanghai Hotels Bus Services, other than their

inter-hotel service, the Aberdeen Kai Fong Motor Bus Company and the bus service maintained by the Hong Kong Tramways (vide paragraph 25 on page 39 of the petition). By Condition 5

of its licence the China Motor Bus Company had to take over at an agreed price the vehicles of the existing undertakings. The disadvantages of this to the purchasing company are no doubt fully appreciated by the Hong Kong

Tramways