COPY
No. 104(60/72J/40)
9
British Embassy,
Tokyo.
May 20th, 1940.
Your Excellency,
With reference to my Note No. 43 of the 25th
February, 1939, regarding the incident near Sham Chun on the 21st of that month, I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that all claims in respect of this incident have now been paid by His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong from the sum of Hong Kong $20,000 received from the Imperial Japanese Government and that there remains a balance of Hong Kong $3,934.43.
2. Before forwarding the final account to the Japanese Consul-General in Hong Kong, however, the Governor of Hong Kong has asked me to enquire of Your Excellency whether there would be any objection to debiting this balance with the sum of Hong Kong $1,450 claimed in my Note No. 88 of the 29th April, 1939, in compensation for damages in respect of British s:bjects who were killed or wounded as a result of Japanese gunfire into Hong Kong territory during the attack by Japanese military forces on Sham Chun and districts on the border of the New Territories of Hong Kong on the 26th November, 1938. A provisional reply to this Note was received from His Excellency Mr. Sawada, the former Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, in his letter of the 13th May, 1939.
3. I have the honour to draw Your Excellency's attention to the fact that this particular claim is specially selected from the numerous other claims for losses to British subjects arising out of the hostilities in China and as yet unsettled as one which might appropriately be paid from the balance of the above-mentioned sum of Hong Kong $20,000, since it relates to losses sustained during the same series of military operations and in a village closely adjoining the scene of the incident of the 21st February, 1939.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excellency the assurance of my highest consideration.
His Excellency
Mr. Hachiro Arita,
His Imperial Japanese Majesty's
Minister for Foreign Affairs.
(SGD) R. L. CRAIGIE.