Our reference: 2F45/54/01. Your reference:
Dear Carter,
Treasury Chambers
Great George Street, London S.W.I Telephone: Whitehall 1234, ext.
288
3rd February, 1969.
47
Hong Kong Harbour Tunnel Project
We recently submitted the papers about the Hong Kong Tunnel to the Minister of State here. In view of the interest now being shown by the Prime Minister in particular, we feel that it is essential that there should be urgent corroboration of the view attributed to Sir J. Cowperthwaite in Mr. Fogarty's letter of 6th November last to Mr. Hodges in the Treasury that whilst the Hong Kong Government would not be prepared to give a joint and several guarantee, it would be prepared to give an individual proportionate guarantee relating to its proportion of the equity shareholding. This was a view which followed from a discussion with Sir John Cowperthwaite during a visit to Hong Kong. It would be helpful to have corroboration immediately because if we receive it, then there is certainly no question that we ought to continue to insist on the participation of the Hong Kong Government in the more limited terms as E.C.G.D. have suggested and we run no particular dangers by insisting on this.
Perhaps you would agree to send an urgent brief telegram to the
Governor.
Copies go to Cotterill (E.C.G.D.), and Fell (Board of Trade).
Yours sincerely,
(C.C. Lucas)
W.S. Carter, Esq.,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
S.W.1.
RECEIVED MI ARCHIVES No.31
- 5 JAN 1969
HKK2.
1/4
LAST REF.
REF.
48952