16
Mr.
متسل
Goodchila
Reference HKK 6/548/3 2.6
ichild (Guidance Department)
Below my minute of 22nd January on this file are copies of papers from Mr. Rounthwaite in Hong Kong. I returned the originals to your file after I had for some days mislaid them.
2.
After Mr. Rounthwaite's complaint that he was not sufficiently briefed, we sent the telegram at (21) to Mr. Hannam in the Trade Commission because it appeared to us that he had not shown to Mr. Rounthwaite the first of the fortnightly series of Newsletters we are now sending to Hong Kong. That Newsletter is at (8) and we have
since sent another at (24).
3.
You will see from Mr. Hannam's latest telegram that these Newsletters cannot, in his view, take the place of proper guidance and I should be grateful for your comments. Mr. Carter will need to see these papers later but he has already told me that it is unlikely that we shall be able to go further than these regular Newsletters, although we may, from time to time, copy telegrams on "hot" subjects such as; at present, the Hong Kong Tunnel to him. But we have to be very careful that we do not give Hannam information before the Governor gets it: otherwise there can in a dependent territory be embarrassing problems. In a sense one such problem has already arisen the other way round, because after agreement with ECGD we sent the Governor a certain telegram about the progress of the Tunnel negotiations expecting that their own telegram to Hannam, on which he was required to act, would get there first. But it didn't, and in the event it was the Government which took action first!
4. A copy of Mr. Rounthwaite's terms of reference is at (18) and we shall need to consider whether what we are doing for him allows him to carry out those terms of reference. Sub-paragraphs 2(ii) and (iii) are relevant and I cannot help asking whether those two paragraphs are quite compatible with what
Bounthwaite, evidently from his telegram at (14), sees as one of the major purposes of his appointment "to act as spokesman on major topics ..."
5. I should be grateful if you would consider these points and perhaps send, the file on then to Information Policy Department.
4 February, 1969
Mov
(H. H. Stewart) Hong Kong Department