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of Calder 5.7
Sr A Barus 6/9
Mr. Gent.
Six Parkinson
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The Rev. A. M. Chirgwin, the General Secretary of the London Missionary Society, called this afternoon to discuss a telegram which he had received from the Representative of the Society in Hong Kong ( a Mr. Short), regarding the evacuation of women missionaries under the general evacuation scheme. It appeared from this cable that several women missionaries who were members of nursing reserves or similar civil defence organisations had been allowed to remain in the Colony, but that two missionaries in particular, a Miss Brakeld and a Miss Rawlings, had received instructions to leave the Colony. They had appealed against this but their appeal had been rejected, and Mr. Short had asked the London Missionary Society to make any representations at the Colonial Office which they might think desirable to secure the rescindment of these mission- aries' instructions to leave for Manila.
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Mr. Chirgwin explained to me that his Society did not wish to cause unnecessary work or embarrassment here. They felt, however, that Mr. Short who was a "very sound man" would not have made an approach to them unless he had very good grounds, and that any representations which he might have made would have been given the fullest consideration by Sir Geoffry Northcote who knew him very well. also said that the missionaries in question had been some 7 or 8 years in China, both spoke Chinese very well, and he thought would be very useful to the Government in helping to control or allay any panic which he thought from his knowledge of China was bound to break out among the Chinese population`should the position in the Colony become any more serious.
I told Mr. Chirgwin that we felt that details of this kind must, in the nature of things, be left to the man on the spot, and that it was very difficult from this distance for us to say who should or should not go. I also said that the evacuation scheme was inspired not only by humanit- arian motives since Mr. Chirgwin seemed to suggest that these two missionaries were not "children to be sent out of danger", but also on the necessity of keeping the food situation in the Colony as easy as possible if things become any worse. (This explan- ation appeared in the Press from Hong Kong the other day). Mr. Chirgwin said he was well aware of the food position in the Colony and recognised the force of these arguments.
As he was speaking on behalf of the Society I promised him that I would submit their representa- tions to higher authority here, though I would not be sanguine as to the likelihood of our being able to do anything for them. I suggest that I might reply to Mr. Chirgwin that we had considered the matter further, that while we appreciate the force of the arguments which he expressed regarding the value which these ladies might be in an emergency
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