FROM
Dated 26th July.
IMPORTANT
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CYPHER TELEGRAM
3628 / 177/10 P
F36
30 JUL J
344
0. A. G.
HONG KONG.
Received 11.29 a.m. 26th July, 1940.
Addressed to S. of S. for the Colonies No. 451
of the 26th July repeated to Tokyo
No. 72, Shanghai No. 147.
Lot 118
Your telegram No. 312.
After vehement criticism of evacuation scheme in press and otherwise, unofficials in finance committee yesterday unanimously opposed a token vote of ten thousand dollars for evacuation expenses for non-service women and children. Objection was primarily on racial grounds namely subsidy to pure Europeans from general taxation which falls predominantly on non-Europeans. Contributions to expenses of war in Europe are held to be on a different footing and are gladly offered from gneral revenue.
Somewhat illogically further point was made that it would have sufficed for such evacuation to be voluntary instead of compulsory. In the case of non-Europeans such voluntary evacuation has already to some extent taken place though of course without free passages or sustenance atdestinations from public funds.
Further detailed criticisms of policy on the grounds of Burma Road Settlement etc. I have attempted to counter as wholly beyond competence of local government.
Without such financial certainty it is impossible to answer urgent enquiries of husbands and others as to their liability, though it is clear to me that free passages and minimum subsistance must be given to all compulsory (group ommitted? evacuees). On this basis apart from shipping charges Government must find about 400,000 dollars for Manila charges and about 120,000 dollars per mensem when evacuses reach Australia.
Subject to your approval I propose to call an early meeting of Legislative Council and use official majority to pass this token vote and so establish principle that such expenditure, however apparently discriminatory, is an essential item of war effort. This may entail some reconsideration of appropriation to war revenue foreshadowed in my telegram No. 96 of the 2nd March.
You may however prefer that expenses should be specifically guaranteed from Imperial Funds in which case I should proceed by way of advance warrants in anticipation. This would be somewhat of a subterfuge although it is quite true apart from expected war revenue, cash contributions of £200,000, i.e. well over 3,000,000 dollars, were made at a time when no such local outgoings could be foreseen.
I would add Chamber of Commerce has today emphasized inherent difficulty of treating as a fortress a city with such a vast Chinese population and has reiterated disastrous effect on trade of such a policy. I refrain from comment.
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Ch. Whitamosh Kite 3/2
277-13.22. G 3117
Googe
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