8
seems to me that in principle the Secretary of Sta te can approve the recommendations submitted to him, even
though the picture may be altered if the Colony is involved in war with Japan in the next few weeks or months.
here will obviously be difficulty in present circumstances in finding a suitably qualified chairman to go out to Hong Kong to undertake the task of forming and subsequently presiding over the Port Trust. I should say that it will be essential to bring in a man from outside Hong Kong to fill that position. I would, therefore, suggest that copies of the report and of No.7 be sent to the Ministry of War Transport and the Admiralty and to the Crown Agents, saying that the Secretary of State proposes to approve the Governor's recommendations, subject to their observations.
In the meantime, No.8 has been received and asks for permission to publish in a technical journal here the report or any part of it, together with the map attached to it. The report has been published as a sessional paper in Hong Kong, but in that form no map was attached to it, and there may obviously be objections by the Admiralty or War Office on security grounds on that point. Many of the recommendations are, however, meaningless without the attached chart, as the Editor of the journal points out. We had better send a short telegram to Hong Kong to ascertain whether the chart in full detail has in fact been published in Hong Kong, and in the meantime send Mr. Cunningham an interim reply.
الله
Yent.
3.12.41.
1
Sir C. Parkinson.
particular
I could have wished that this case had not come up at this particular juncture. I feel great hesitation, at a moment when Hong Kong may be on the eve of tremendous events, in inviting a Service Department such as the Admiralty to consider proposals about future harbour administration, and particularly proposals that involve all sorts of details as to the constitution of the Harbour Board, the number of members required to constitute a quorum, and all the rest of it. The Admiralty may be disposed to wonder whether we ever read the newspapers or have any conception of the military situation in the Far East. However, this is a matter of long-term -policy, and there seems no gr
why we should not proceed with the next step, in spite of the uncertainty of the situation. At any rate, no harm will be done.
? As proposed by Mr. Gent.
First disperse of No & ag proposed & Reciclati,
Ms.
4.12.41.
Leat