SiR ERIC NORRIS-RECC.
NOTE OF A MEETING BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG AND THE
MINISTER OF STATE ON 9 AUGUST
Present:
Minister of State
Sir Murray Maclehose
Mr P Haddon-Cave
Mr Mitchell
Mrs Hedley-Miller
Sir Eric Norris
Miss Diana Seammen
HONG KONG STERLING AGREEMENTS
Sir Murray Maclehose said that he was grateful to the Minister
of State for seeing him and Mr Haddon-Cave. The Hong Kong Government were anxious to act responsibly but they were very conscious that their very large sterling holdings could be
uncovered after September 24th. They realised their obligations both to Her Majesty's Government and to their own people and had
no wish to disrupt the sterling or the gilt-edged market. They were anxious to have clarification of the likely course of events after September 24th. The Chancellor's message had not excluded the possibility of a new guarantee and if there were to be such a guarantee there were only 6 weeks in which to agree its terms. On the other hand, if there were to be no further guarantee, the Hong Kong Government would need to take immediate advice on their
own future course of action. The last possibility was that there
would be no further guarantee but there would continue to be some constraint on the Hong Kong Government's freedom of action and again if this were to be the case, immediate negotiations were
necessary.