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-Finally, for two days, all movement of persons and traffic in the town was prohibited and military cordons were placed round each group of houses while inspectors visited each cubicle and each floor of each house, and registered the inhabitants. Even this was evaded by any Chinese who openly boast now that they carry two identification cards. The Japanese ultimately abandoned the scheme, and no one admits today that it was at any time successful.
The enomous cost and staff which a rationing scheme would entail, and the small chances of British humanitarian methods succeeding where Japanese brutality had failed, convinces me that no rationing scheme should be attempted if an equitable distribution of sufficient food can be achieved in any other manner, Even the Japanese limited their rationing to rice, salt, sugar, peanut oil, firewood, and matches, and at least thres of these items (salt, firewood, and matches) should not, once communications are open in South China, require to be rationed.
7.
CONCLUSIONS.
From the above information I venture to draw the following conclusions;-
There
(1) The food supplies in the Colony since the Japanese surrender have been fully adequate to meet the demands. have been no food riots, queues outside food shops are unknown, and while the varied dietary of pre-war days has not returned to the average household, nevertheless there is an adequate sufficiency for present needs.
*
(11) The supplies of perishable foodstuffs from the Delta
r
are showing a rapid daily increase, This has taken place in spite of the fact that Hong Kong has had no legal currency, preferzing to make shift with Military Yen, Macau dollars, and Chinese currencies.
(111) The supplies of rice left behind by the Japanese, together with the supplies we can attract from the West River Delta will suffice to keep pace with the demand for this staple commodity until overseas supplies reach Hong Kong. It should be clearly recognised, however, that a continued flow of rice from some large producing centre, such as Thailand, is an integral element in the economic life of the Colony.
(lv) The most pressing need in the food supplies at present is land and sea transport. Distribution of supplies in the Colony itself is throttled by the lack of adequate land transport. For example, rice deliveries to retailers are being made on small hand trucks with dangerous deleys owing to the absence of motor lorries. Again, supplies of those essential commodities which can be best obtained in the neighbouring provinces and countries cannot be tapped until coastal shipping is made available for sea transport.
_(V) The above report has dealt only with basic essentials for the Chinese community, It is not, presumably, the intention of the world food authorities that the population of Hong Kong shall be for ever so limited. Information, therefore, is required as to what stooks of overseas products can be expected by Hong Kong and when such stocks will be made available. Butter, Cheese, and Tinned Milk especially will be required if a fair dietétic scale is to be maintained for a large section of the population.
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-5-
/(VI)
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