Any further communication on this! subject should be addressed to-
The Secretary,
War Office,
London, S.W..
and the following number quoted.
083/4369 (M.0.1).
Sir,
CONFIDENTIAL.
V
War Office,
137
་ ་ ་ 16299
Keef Reef 4 APR 12
London, S.W.
3rd April 1912.
$43
+38/11
I am commanded by the Army Council to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential letter No. 38/1912, dated the 16th of February 1912, and subsequent correspondence, on the subject of the application of the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha for the lease of a site for a coal depot at Hong Kong.
In reply I am to state, for the information of Mr. Secretary Harcourt, that the Council adhere generally to the view expressed by them in War Office confidential letter No. Hong Kong 8/123 (M.0.1), addressed to you on the 26th of September 1911, but at the same time, as far as can be traced in this office, this proposal of the Colonial Government to lease the sea-bed fronting the War Department land at North Point appears to be new.
In the absence of a plan showing the area of the sea-bad to be leased, it is not clear whether the proposal will affect War Department rights in the cable hut about 150 feet eastward of the North Point land, and, if the lease is approved, it should be on the additional condition that the General Officer Commanding should be given the opportunity of making any reservations in respect to the cable hut and its appurtenances, if such should be necessary.
Under Secretary of State,
Colonial Office,
Whitehall, S.V.
In
Q