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NOTE B.
Rehabilitation Problems. (a) Staff. I was struck by the really remarkable achievement of the Navy, Army and Air Force in re-establishing services. All the officers and men seem to be buoyed up with the realisation that they are doing a constructive job. I have already mentioned the shortage of staffs on the Civil Affairs side, and I hope that, as British Troops in China and other organisations in China are wound up, we may be in a position to give Hong Kong some assistance in this matter; accounts officers for instance would be valuable and if some arrangement could be reached for their establishment under the military administration, the good work that they could do would be entirely out of proportion to their numbers. I think in particular that Mr. Johnstone's office here should be wound up as rapidly as possible and that he and his men should be transferred to the Treasury Department: he may need to leave a small staff behind to wind up. Unfortunately though, as the new Financial Secretary is still on his way out from the United Kingdom, I was unable to talk terms of remuneration. There is also the case of Mr. T. A. Martin, now with U.N.R.R.A., in Chungking, on which I have left a note with Brigadier MacDougall and expect to hear from him.
(b) Fuel. One ship with four to five thousand tons of coal has reached Hong Kong and the power station is now at work. Both coal (for industrial and domestic uses and for bunkers) and firewood are of primary importance. Hong Kong's requirement of coal is some 15,000 tons a month, and I discussed with the various authorities concerned the possibility of getting this from North China. I suggest that I be authorised to speak to General Olmsted and to say that the Hong Kong Administration would be prepared to send shipping to fetch coal from the Kailan dumps if this can be made available. Hong Kong is still in the China theatre; and I think that we should exert strong pressure on General Olmsted and treat this as a matter of the greatest urgency. The Ministry of War Transport representative (Mr. Reid) in Hong Kong believes that he can at once send up
There is also a nine thousand ton ship to collect coal.
an idea of passing a little of this coal on to Canton whence As an appeal has come for Hong Kong Government assistance. to firewood, I believe that a suggestion of mine that the possibilities of North Borneo should be considered has been taken up.
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