The Naval Authority, the user of part of the Reserve for an area, shows that it is impossible for the War Dept. to carry out one condition of the arrangement of the above agreement (viz., to enable the Navy to surrender to the Col. Govt. to resume the site occupied by the Naval Firing Range at Kowloon) without the concurrent consent of the Admiralty.
2. It is clearly impossible for the Mil. Govt. to protect the Naval Authorities & the Rifle Association from theft with the value of this Naval firing range. Unless the War Dept. can undertake to allow some of the new land which it is proposed to acquire near Devil's Peak to be used by the Navy, the Police, & the Rifle Association, there appears to be no alternative but to abandon the idea of the resumption of the area in question by the Col. Govt., in which case for an unexpired period of 30 years the War Dept. will retain the right of user of the land to the same extent as hitherto, & can accordingly be required by the War Dept. for the exercise of such rights.
3. As regards the solution of the difficulty suggested in par. 4 of your letter under acknowledgement, I am to state that this department fails to see any substantial difference between the proposal and the original proposal in the memo of the Inter-departmental Conference.
A copy of this correspondence has been forwarded to the Admy. & the Governor.
I take this opportunity of requesting you to inform Mr. Brodrick that it has been ascertained...