Minute
10/18/
With reference to preceding minutes, and
#fi
Mr. Caine's minute of the 16th December, it appe
to
5301
that authority was given to the Crown »gents
oredit interest received on behalf of the Hong Kong
Exchange Fund to Hong Kong general revenues, by
Colonial Office official letter of 4th December, 1942
(55 on 54109). It does not emerge from the minutes
on that file that the Treasury were specifically con-
sulted before such authority was given. The authority
itself was given under the provisions of the Hong hong (temporary provisions, Order in Council, 1942,
the original of which is at 49 on 54109. No action
appears to have been taken since to repeal the Order
in Council, but presumably this should be considered
8 soon as possible.
so far as I am awara and can discover, the
Treasury have not in any way been concerned with the
payment of interest into Hong Kong current account,
and in view of the fact that as a result of the
duress note settlements the percentage of cover for
the Hong Kong doller has been reduced to 94: (see
paragraph 3 of 22 hereon), it is clear that, as Mr.
Caine states, there is no justification for con-
tinuance of this wartime arrangement.
I suggest the action necessary is to send
an official letter to the Crown Agents notifying
them that the authority has terminated from a specified
date and that thereafter the ordinary pre-war practice
whereby transactions on behalf of the Exchange Fund
were made under authority given by the Hong Kong
Government, should be resumed.
na regards the date, while it might be
advantageous to go back as far as possible, viz. to
the resumption of civil administration, this would mean withdrawing money that has already been credited to Hong Kong Government funds ind hence increasing
/the Treasury
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