107
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. March 5, 1921.
:
Dear Captain Irby,
The Hong Kong appointment is I know a very difficult case
and has given us a great deal of anxiety.
As you know we tried to pick out the very best man we could in 1910 and did so not only with a view to giving Mr. Tutcher a thoroughly reliable Assistant but in the hope that we were giving Hong Kong a man who might develop into a worthy successor;
From the Hong Kong despatch of 21 April last (No. 137) it is clear that our primary object has been fully complied with but that unfortunately Mr. Green though so highly spoken of by His Excellemy is not quite the man the Colony needs in view of the very proper desire of the Government of Hong Kong to increase the local food supply by means of scientif- ically conducted experiments.
The Colonial Office has done all that is possible to meet His Excellency's wishes. But the Colonial Office has had a difficult problem before them. We know Mr. Green tovbe a good man and it is his misfortune not his fault that he has not had the special training which the new duties to be attached to the office of Superintendent render desirable. If Mr. Tutcher is to be replaced at all he must either be replaced by a man