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4
COLONIAL SECRETARIAT,
HONG KONG,
3rd May, 1947.
(26)
My dear Mayle,
Thank you for your letter 52246/47 of 12th
February enclosing copies of semi-official correspondence
with the Foreign Office about proposals for closer liaison
between this Government and the British Embassy in China.
I see that Kitson is cautious about agreeing that
the post of Political Adviser should revert to the Colonial
Service after three years: I take it this decision is one
primarily to be guided by Colonial Office convictions. It
is in my opinion wise to defer consideration of this point
for a year as you suggest. We have several promising men
eager to train for the job and I am glad to see from Sir
(24) Ralph Stevenson's telegram No.104 to the Foreign Office
that he agrees to the proposal that Colonial Service officers should be attached to the Embassy as part of their training.
Now that the Foreign Office appear likely to
agree in principle to this recommendation I assume that you
would have no objection to direct discussion between us and
the Nanking Embassy with a view to sending an officer to
Nanking as soon as he can be spared. The officer will
probably be of ten to twelve years' seniority and we
suggest that he might be usefully attached to the Chinese Counsellor. We should pay his ordinary Hong Kong salary and hope that Nanking will provide free quarters and the local cost of living allowances.
The proposal that contact should be established
with Canton and Swatow is one which we should strongly
support. Before 1938 we had a number of unpassed cadets
N. L. MAYLE, ESQ.,
COLONIAL OFFICE,
LONDON), S.W.1.