SEEN
BY DEPT
30112
No. CONFIDENTIAL (2)
05538/38
19.
22
28 DEC 1938
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
10th December, 1938.
Sir,
14
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your confidential telegram No. 222 of 15th November, 1938,
informing me of the acceptance by His Majesty's Government
of the proposals for a fixed contribution of $6,000,000 a
year, subject to review every five years and to the conditions
proposed in paragraphs 17 and 20 of my confidential despatch
of 22nd June, 1938, and subject also to the following further condition viz. that the acceptance of the system of fixed annual contribution is to be regarded as experimental,
subject to review at the end of the first quinquennium, with
the proviso that if the experiment is found to be unsatisfactory His Majesty's Government or the Colonial Government may propose
to revert to the present basis of calculation of contribution
at the end of the five-year period 1939-43. I note, with
regard to paragraph 18 of my despatch, that the observations
there made would be borne in mind when the time comes for
negotiation of the re-assessment of the contribution but that
His Majesty's Government do not wish to be committed at this
stage to acceptance of the suggested basis of re-assessment
so far in advance of the date of review.
2.
I submit for approval a draft Bill of an Ordinance
to amend the Defence Contribution Ordinance, 1901. Clause 5 of this bill has been included with the object of setting out formally the agreement reached as to the terms of revision of
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
६
MALCOLM MACDONALD, M.P.,
&C., &c., &c.