130
transport planes and only the cost of the onward journey
from India was therefore allowed for.
With the end of the
war these calculations were of course out of date.
9.
In his despatch to the Foreign Office dated 9th November 1945, (Enclosure 7) in which particulars and application forms of the nineteen candidates were submitted, the Aubussador recommended,
(a)
(16)
that "at least five and possibly ten more apprenticeships should be offered to Hong Kong candidates";
that the possibility of offering engineering apprenticeships to young men between the ages of 18 and 21 who had not received higher education but who were likely to form useful executives should be considered.
With regard to (a) a further despatch from the Ambassador dated the 27th August was sent to this Department by the Foreign Office on the 25th September. It is possible that you already have a copy of this despatch but in case not a copy is enclosed for your information together with the extract from the semi-official letter referred to in the opening paragraph (Enclosure 8 and Enclosure 9). It will be seen that a further 19 candidates have been interviewed and examined and that five are recommended for the further five scholarships to which agreement was originally given (see Enclosure 6). As on the previous occasion the examination papers and committee men's papers which forme d Enclosure 2 to Sir R.stevenson's despatch have been submitted to the F.B.I. In view of the fact that announcements made in China referred to 10 scholarships and that only 5 have so far been filled, I should be glad to know whether you are prepared to agree to the award of scholarships to those candidates recommended in the Ambassador's despatch. In view of the time that has lapsed I should be grateful for a reply by telegram.
The proposal at (b) formed the subject of my despatch No. 9 of the 9th May.
10. I regret that this record of the circumstances in which it was decided to grant scholarships to certain Hong Kong engineering graduates from Hong Kong Government funds has not been made available to you before but I trust that in the light of the information given above, you will feel able to express your agreement with the arrangements that have been made.
I have,etc.,
(Sgd.) A. CREACH JONES.