INTERNATION
COMITE
ENEVE
Telephone:
ABBEY 2896.
"
2897.
83
COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX-ROUGE
AGENCE CENTRALE DES PRISONNIERS DE GUERRE
Dear Mr. Scarlett,
LONDON
DELEGATION
55, PALL MALL, S.W.1.
7 th April,
19 48.
I am very sorry to have to write to you so so on again and burden you with another matter which, as you will see, is not altogether new to the Colonial Office; it concerns liabilities for repairs and replacements incurred under the terms of the lease of the "Rosary Hill Home" in Hongkong.
The owners' claim and subsequent developments appear to
be fully explained in the attached copies of correspondence consisting of; -
1) the I.R. C. Committee's letter No. 102 of 23-12-1946 to their delegate, Mr.
R. Zindel, in Hongkong, with a copy of a memorandum of 22-10-1946 from the Governor of Hongkong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a copy of a letter of 4-12-1946 from the Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office, to the Secretary, British Red Cross Society, and a copy of a letter of 10-12-1946 from the Finance Secretary, British Red Cross Society, to Mr. Rigg, I.R.C.C. Geneva
2) Mr. Zindel's reply of 5-3-1947 to the I.R.C.C. Geneva, with a copy of his letter of 30-3-1946 to Lieut. Col. W. Kay, Civil Affairs Administration, Hongkong
3) Mr. Zindel's further communication of 15-4-1947 to the I.R.C.C. Geneva
4) the I.R.C. Committee's reply of 27-3-1947 to the B.R. C. Society's letter of
10-12-1946
5) the I.R.C. Committee's further communication of 27-5-1947 to the B.R.C.
Society -
6) the Finance Secretary, B.R.C.Society's reply to the Committee's letter of
27-5-1947-
In asking me to re-submit this claim, with the additional information now available, to H.M. Government with a view to a settlement, my Headquarters state that the origin of this matter goes back to 1943, when, owing to the rapidly increasing cost of living in Hongkong, the allowances which Mr. Zindel was able to make to British "dependents" proved inadequate to meet essential needs. Mr. Zindel then conceived the idea of communal living for these "dependents", in order to provide them with assured lodging, food, medical and dental care, out of the limited funds supplied by H.M. Government. For this purpose, he secured the "Rosary Hill Home", the lease of which included a contingent liability clause for repairs and replacement of lost or damaged contents.
Colby H.K.
My Headquarters'
view is that the said liability, though
./.