Wt. 23364/665, 8/47; 50,000. S. & S. Ltd
54297/1/47
?
C. O.
Mr. Mayle
Mr. Daca
7/10/47
24.10.
Mr Gulwin 25/101.
Mr..
Permt. U.S. of S.
Parly. U.S. S.
Mr..
------------
DRAFT. LETTER.
Secretary of State:
Your Reference......
Deep. 29/10
17
5
29th October 1947.
Imprisonment of Two Members of Kwangtung Provincial Peace Preservation Corps in
Hong Kong.
A.L. SCOTT, ESQ.,
FOREIGN OFFICE.
FURTHER ACTION.
On the 29th September you sent us
under cover of your reference F.10701/376/10
copies of correspondence from Nanking
including a copy of a letter which Lamb sent
to MacDougall, in which he suggested that
the unserved part of the sentences of these
men might be remitted by Sir Alexander Grantham
on assuming charge of the administration as
an act of clemency and in token of goodwill.
While fully appreciating all the
difficulties in Nanking, I must confess that
I was shocked and alarmed to see that this
suggestion had been made in the circumstances
described in Lamb's letter, and in particular
after Vice-Minister George Yeh had made this
the subject of a hysterical outburst which
Lamb himself describes as, in fact, tantamount
to blackmail tactics.
The exercise of the prerogative
of mercy rests with the Governor, and the
does not normally attempt to influmes, Secretary of State is not entitled to
heni.
intervener
Nevertheless, I feel that the
such
external issues involved here are so serious
that