CONFIDENTIAL
Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KC VO
Governor
HONG KONG
29 October 1976
1. I have not written to you before now to thank you for your kindness to me during my stay in Hong Kong and for the great amount of trouble that you went to to make my visit not only invaluable but also enjoyable. I have been waiting until I could give you some useful assessment of the state of play here in Britain after I had divorced myself from the inevitable euphoria caused by the generous and frank reception given to me by all your officials and the awe with which I came to appreciate the achievements that have been made by the Hong Kong Government in so many different spheres.
2. We have now had the first meeting of the Standing Committee to consider social progress in Hong Kong and I have just submitted the minutes to Goronwy-Roberts.
be an appropriate time to write to you.
This then seems to
3. You will see from the minutes that the frankness and helpfulness with which I was received is greatly appreciated here. You will see also that there is a determination to steer the nicest of courses between necessary deep and continued interest in Hong Kong's affairs and the inevitable temptation to meddle. I hope that we will manage to do this.
4. I am enclosing four copies of the minutes. You will doubtless want to distribute them among your staff. But in view of the mention of the "Andrew Stuart" project, I shall not send copies to any other officials in Hong Kong.
5. We are all looking forward to seeing you in Britain in the near future, and I hope that when you appear in London you will be refreshed from your leave. I shall try not to trouble you while you are in Ayrshire any more than necessary but there will be one or two things that I shall try to cover with one telephone call.
CONFIDENTIAL
JA B Stewart