NO:
SECRET AND PERSONAL.
OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF,
HONG KONG.
11th November, 1945.
2622
Thy dear fecisting of
that
I feel rather guilty at not having written to you before to tell you how things were going, but it has been such a state of flux that I felt I should only add to the number of things you have to read without being able to give you much information.
I
2. The re-occupation as a whole has gone extremely well and, in fact much better than was ever expected or hoped. think we surprised the Japanese by taking the mine risk and coming straight in and we managed to keep them on the go so that they never had time to take breath. At the same time Gimson and his very gallant band of ex-prisoners of war and internees had got going, and continued to do very good service until some of them literally cracked right up, not being yet fit enough for the tasks they were trying to do.
3. After nearly ten weeks we can safely say that there are very few problems which the arrival of reasonable supplies would not go far to solve. Most of the essential and important services are running, though there are still isolated cases of public buildings whose supply of water and light are not satisfactory, and the trams, although running in the centre of the town, have not got their full service going owing to the overhead wires still being under repair. We are already docking ships and thus being a slight asset to the British Taxpayer instead of a total liability, and above all, the streets are full of people who are very cheerful and appear contented. The shops are also full, largely of stuff which was hidden away during the Japanese occupation. The prices of these commodities, as well as of food, are extremely high, though the price of food is slowly but surely coming down.
4.
The central problem is to hold the position now attained until supplies reach us in the required flow. No matter how resourceful, we cannot much longer conceal the essential weakness of a situation represented by bare larders, empty godowns and a harbour full of men-of-war instead of merchantmen. There is a limit to the period one can live on one's wits. The next great step forward in rehabilitating Hong Kong lies with the supply machinery backing us from the outside.
5. Trade and commerce must be opened up without delay. The Colony is ripe for it and an early decision from London on the proposals already submitted is vital. Only by this can we dispel a latent suspicion that the re-occupation of Hong Kong is being turned exclusively to the British advantage. Words are no longer adequate.
/ 6......