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*but i have always had difficulty in procuring sufficient
funds with
For your information, I set out on a separate sheet the cost of the principal items affecting the cost of living in Macau.
I have always wished to help members of the staff in the Camps by sending in to them suitable parcels to supplement the unbalanced and inadquate food ration they are accustomed to receive, which to purchase food for my own family. It would be possible for me to assist them all through the International Red Cross, provided I could obtain approximately £40 (forty pounds) per month. I am confident that, if the London Company can see their way to remit this amount for the above mentioned object, the action will be greatly appreciated by the Hong Kong Directors.
I attach the greatest importance to the restoration of essential communications on the re-occupation of the Colony, no matter what the extent of the present and future damage to the telephone plant may be. Regular procedure and a carefully thought out plan is not feasible in the circumstances. So far as the exchange equipment is concerned, we have estimated the extent of the damage, but I must attach a cautionary label to the view expressed, as we never had an opportunity to test it subsequent to the termination of hostilities. About 2/3 (two thirds) of our total lines connected to our Central Exchange were kept working right up to the time the Japanese entered the exchange. I may mention incidentally that the Japanese were very surprised and excited when they realized the Central Exchange was still functioning.
Our main cable system cannot have suffered greatly, as information derived from the Chinese staff establishes that, at one time and subsequent to Japanese occupation, 6,000 lines on our Central Exchange were put into operation. Branch cables must have been considerably damaged but some have since been repaired. I feel I have no authority to suggest any replace- ments of this nature and consider that no decision can be arrived at until the full extent of the damage is definitely known.
Kowloon Exchange was abandoned by us during the fighting, on instructions from Military Authorities, but is undamaged. The Exchange staff were in the last boat to leave Kowloon. passed the building once since the Japanese occupation.
I
Central Exchange was hit by a shell during the fighting; this made a hole in the roof of the building and caused the bursting of a large water tank, which we had not been permitted to empty. Water poured into the exchange through the shell hole and approximately 3,000 lines were put out of commission. I do not consider that any of the equipment so damaged can ever to used again, particularly after the lapse of a year without attention. The damage to the building was of a minor character and has since been repaired by the Japanese.
OJ
I have been in frequent contact with the Chinese staff, whom I have met in the street from time to time. They assert the exchange equipment is in a bad condition from a maintenance
point/
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