In any further communication on this subject, please quote
No.
F 12522/28/10.
and address--
not to any person by name
but to-
"The Under-Secretary of State,"
Foreign Office,
London, S.W.1.
Dupl litter
only
49
210.
Foreign Office.
S.W.1.
15th December,1939.
CONFIDENTIAL
195
Sir,
With reference to Colonial Office letter No.53548/39 of
the 8th December, I am directed by Viscount Halifax to state
that he considers it desirable that in the circumstances the
Government of Hong Kong should comply with the Japanese
Consul-General's request for permission to purchase a small
quantity of arms in the colony for the use of the Japanese
police force at Canton. In his opinion the grant of such
permission might help to improve relations between the Japanese
authorities at Canton and the Government of Hong Kong.
2. While, however, there is no objection to this transaction
on legal grounds, Lord Halifax trusts that the arms which the
Japanese Consul-General may be allowed to purchase will be
the property of private firms rather than of His Majesty's
Government, since otherwise some criticism might be expected
from Chinese sources and since, despite the absence of a declared
state of war in China, the Government of Hong Kong have always
adhered to a strictly neutral attitude in the conflict between
China and Japan.
3.
With regard to the request in the second paragraph of
Colonial Office letter under reference, Lord Halifax considers that
the Governor of Hong Kong's telegram may not refer to any
telegrams which he received from Tokyo or Shanghai, but that the reference at the beginning of His Excellency's telegram
may indicate that it was repeated to His Majesty's Ambassador
at/
The Under-Secretary of State,
Colonial Office.