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now remaining.
Moreover, as the years go by,
the period left of the lease from China becomes
smaller and smaller, and it will become
increasingly difficult to get development
undertaken in private hands;
(b) "he second point was that the period for
which a lease is granted cannot be kept secret.
If, therefore, we only grant leases for the
unexpired period of the lease from China, it
will become generally known that this is our
policy, and the inference will be drawn that we
propose eventually to restore the New Territories
¡ to China. This would create an atmosphere of
uncertainty and dismay and eventually put a
stopper on development in the leased area.
Some discussion ensued as to whether
or not this was an appropriate time to raise the
question at home. It seemed clear that it
would have to be submitted to the Cabinet, and
it was doubtful whether the Cabinet would be
prepared to authorise action which might conflict
with the legal advice tendered to them. On the
other hand it was felt that a case could be made
on the political side, and even if this case did
not find favour with the Cabinet, Hong Kong would
be no worse off than it is now. We cannot,
therefore, lose anything by raising the question,
and we may possibly gain an important decision
in our favour. It was decided that if this
course met with general agreement we should
prepare a Cabinet Demorandum based on the telegrams
exchanged with Hong Kong in 1926, conveying an
assurance to the Governor that we would be in no
circumstances