CONFIDENTI AL
COVERING SECRET & PERSONAL
submission
Mr Cortazzi
JA B Stewart
233 3184
Hong Kong
CC 1
Flag A
Mr Maud (FRD)
Mr Smith (SEA)
for approval first
Flag B
Flag C
Flag D Flag E
HONG KONG: THE TREASURY'S INTEREST
1. You asked for comments on the final sentence of Mr Barratt's letter of 14 March and a draft reply to his
letter.
2.
The Treasury may have had grounds for complaint last year that we were not keeping them sufficiently closely informed about matters affecting Hong Kong in which they have an interest. The Planning Paper particularly was drawn up without consultation with the Treasury or any other outside department. I explained how this came about in my letter of 21 January to Mr Walker in the Treasuryk (in reply to the letter from Mr Scholar to which Mr Barratt refers). As well as a copy of the Planning Paper, I took the opportunity to send the Treasury a copy of the record of Lord Goronwy-Roberts' meeting with the Governor of Hong Kong and the Financial Secretary on 9 December last at whibh the prospects for the 1977/78 Hong Kong budget were discussed. Since then you have sent Sir Derek Mitchell, with your letter of 15 February, copies of the minute you wrote about our conversations with Mr Haddon-Cave last December and of the Governor of Hong Kong's telegram no. 155 contain- ing a preview of the budget. I do not think, therefore, that the Treasury have any current cause for complaint that we are not keeping them in the picture. In replying to Mr Barratt, however, you may like to send him copies of Mr Haddon-Cave's budget statement on 2 March and the note on the economic background to it, even though these are published documents which may already be available to
the Treasury.
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CONFIDENTI AL
COVERING SECRET AND PERSONAL
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