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CYPHER telegram from the Secretary of State for the Colonies
to the Governor of Hong Kong.
(Sent 10.0 p.m., 7th July, 1939.)
No. 132 Secret,
Your telegram No. 140.
I am advised that temporary immobilisation cannot
affect position of these vessels from legal point of view, and
that if they were formerly accorded status of warships they
should continue to be treated as such. This appears to be
borne out by fact that immobilisation was apparently arranged
in agreement with Commanding Officer of the ships,
If this view of legal position is correct, no local
enactment, including regulation referred to in your telegram,
could properly be invoked against 3. S. Wingfook,
Undesirable
precedent might, however, be created if any of these immobilised
ships were permitted to use her wireless transmitting apparatus
over extended period and attempt should be made to bring this
activity to an end.
I suggest that sanction for enforcing such a
prohibition could, as in the case of visiting warships in
general, be the threat of a request to leave. Previous attitude
of Commanding Officer of these ships makes it appear likely that
when confronted by such a threat, they would be disinclined to
refuse undertaking not to transmit further messages. In event
of breach of undertaking of this kind, the choice either of
allowing removal of essential part of apparatus or of leaving
Hong Kong, could then be given.
This course of action recommends itself particularly on ground that it would offer considerable prospect of achieving desired result before stage is reached at which a threat of formal internment, with all its attendant disadvantages, would become necessary.
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